Sacrifice
by fanwriter1245
Summary: From the moment she lays eyes on him, Corie swears to protect half-ghoul Ken Kaneki. Becoming like the older sister he never had, she attempts to keep him from harm which is more difficult than she ever imagined as more characters come into play, each one wanting Kaneki for their own reasons. But one thing is for sure: she's never letting Kaneki go without a fight.
1. Reina Furukawa

**I've been working on this story for just over a year, and I am both nervous and excited to finally share my creation with you! So, the way this story works: it is told in alternating timelines which will be clarified with a heading at the beginning of each chapter to tell you where we are in the timeline. _Tokyo Ghoul_ strictly follows manga canon. _Tokyo Ghoul: re_ does _NOT_.** ** The characters will generally be the same, but the storyline and situations are drastically different. This was one of the hardest things I've ever written partly because I've never diverged from canon as much as I did here, but I hope I did a good job with what I came up with.  
**

**A special shout-out to user, OFSA, for being an awesome beta reader and Tumblr user, hannycho12, for the AMAZING commission of Corie that makes up the cover photo!  
**

* * *

**_Reina=27_**

**_Sasaki=22_**

The shrill screech of the morning alarm pierced what was once a peaceful quiet.

Reina groaned. "Five more minutes," she pleaded of the infernal clock whose sole purpose was to disrupt her sleep.

She flopped over and pushed the 'Off' button to silence the horrid noise.

Tempted to call in sick and sleep the day away, she forced herself out of her comfortable bed and prepared to begin her day which was probably going to be just as similar as the three hundred before it and no less awful.

Reina dressed in her business shirt and jacket and her black slacks, just as an office employee should dress. She then tied her black hair into a bun with her bangs hanging to one side just beneath her eyebrow.

She hated dressing this way. It felt constricting. She certainly missed the days where she could wear jeans and a t-shirt and let her hair down. It felt like an entire lifetime ago.

As she slipped her black-rimmed glasses over her green eyes, she was once again struck by just how plain and ordinary she looked. She was the kind of woman who easily faded into the background.

But that was okay. It was how she wanted it.

After completing the rest of her morning routine, she quickly grabbed her bag and headed to her place of employment.

The large building greeted her when she was still a mile away. One would have to be living under a rock to not know of the purpose for such a monumental structure.

The Commission of Counter Ghoul Main Office.

Their purpose for existing was to eradicate all ghouls who walked the streets of Japan. It didn't matter who they were or what they did. If they were a ghoul, they must be exterminated.

Reina sighed heavily as she entered the building and bypassed the RC scanner gates. She hated that part. If it malfunctioned and went off on her, she didn't even want to think about what might happen.

As she headed towards the administrative department where she worked, she passed by several investigators who seemed to be prepping for their next mission or going out to gain intel on their current mission. She wondered what it was like to be an investigator and constantly put your life on the line, never knowing if the next mission was going to be your last.

A particular investigator with white and black hair passed by from a distance.

Haise Sasaki.

He was rather new, only having been an investigator for about two years, but he had potential. He was also quite famous for being the leader of the Quinx squad and a Quinx himself, or a hybrid ghoul. He could use kagune like a ghoul, but as far as everyone else at the CCG knew, he was essentially human in every other way.

Though Reina had never spoken to him, she'd heard lots of stories about him, both from people who admired him as a leader and an investigator and from people who despised him because he was too similar to a ghoul for their taste.

Reina reached her cubicle and with a deep breath, she quickly began to finish the whopping amount of paperwork sitting on her desk.

The CCG has just wrapped up a huge mission dealing with a ghoul known as 'The Shadow', named for his keen ability to disappear into the shadows shortly before being apprehended by investigators. Unfortunately for him, several squads had been sent out to dispatch him and they had succeeded. The Shadow was no more.

She never knew the sheer amount of paperwork that went into extermination missions. There was paperwork for before the mission started, paperwork for when the ghoul was caught, paperwork for when the ghoul _wasn't_ caught, and a whole lot of paperwork for after the mission was completed.

And considering the amount of missions that took place in the CCG, the administrative department was certainly never bored.

When her workday concluded, Reina made sure her desk was neat and tidy and left the office, ready to come back in less than 24 hours. Office jobs never suited her, and she almost felt like she was wasting her life away by working here, but this was her choice and she wasn't going to start regretting it now.

While her day may be over, the investigators rarely ever got a break. They rested when their mission had come to a pause and for a little bit in between missions but no more.

So it was no surprise that as she left, she witnessed a few squads departing as well, armed with their quinques.

Among them was Haise Sasaki. However, unlike the rest of the investigators, he ran out the door with a sense of urgency.

Urgency. That could only mean one thing.

Reina quickly exited the building, thankfully not having to walk through the RC gates again to leave, and began to discreetly follow the investigator just as she had several times before.

As she walked, she shrugged off her business jacket and replaced it with her large black hoodie just in case she ended up needing to move quickly which was a very real possibility.

It wasn't long before Sasaki and Reina (who stayed out of sight) found themselves joining the other investigators who made up his small squad. The three hybrid ghouls were currently up against an all-too-full ghoul.

Reina knew this one. He had been given the alias 'Black Rose' for the blackened rose he left with the remains of his victims. Only truly overconfident and foolish ghouls left calling cards. The rest only knew to survive.

Black Rose's kagune, a blur of red and blue, loomed above all of the junior investigators. It was one of the bigger kagunes a ghoul could have, that was for sure. And it was painfully clear that the Quinx had been fighting the ghoul for a while and yet he didn't have a scratch. Maybe if they had the other member of their squad, they could've done at least a little bit more damage, but Saiko was nowhere to be found as usual.

"You guys okay?" Sasaki shouted to his subordinates.

"We're fine!" Mutsuki replied. "This guy's tough though!"

"We managed to clear the area, Teach!" Shirazu added.

"Good work! Come on! Let's take this thing down!"

Reina slipped off her glasses and removed her black hair, allowing her normal dark blonde tresses to cascade down her shoulders. The fresh air touched her scalp and boy, did it feel good. She hated wearing this thing more than the awful business get-up.

She shoved the glasses and wig into her bag before pulling out the item she knew she was going to need.

The Quinx squad armed themselves with their quinques and kagunes, but this ghoul was clearly ready to face both types of weapons. His large kagune split into two pieces and each piece fought two investigators.

Reina watched with worry. This wasn't going to be easy for any of them.

The ghoul laughed sadistically. "I've heard about the famous hybrids the CCG created. How sickening. Are you trying to mock us? As if we didn't hate the Doves enough already."

With an enraged shout, Urie jumped up and tried to attack Black Rose, but one of his kagune pieces easily knocked him and his weapon aside.

Sasaki went in for the attack next while his other squad members tried to quickly recuperate.

Black Rose quickly smacked the investigator's quinque with his kagune and then stabbed him in the chest with the other piece.

Sasaki fell to the ground in agony. It was his own fault. He should've been more prepared for the attack, but he'd just run in blindly and now he was paying the heavy price for it. While his wound had already started to heal, he wasn't sure it would be in time for him to mount another attack. Not that he could attack. This thing had destroyed his weapon. Sure, he had his _other_ weapon, but it was almost just as dangerous to use that…

Suddenly, a familiar ghoul landed directly in front of him. But just like the other times, the ghoul faced his opponent rather than the investigator himself.

"It's Lightning," Mutsuki said quietly.

The newly arrived ghoul smirked at the nickname, given for the blue and white lightning streaks on the mask worn to protect the ghoul's identity.

Black Rose laughed at his new opponent. "Can I help you? Can't you see I'm trying to have dinner?"

"I'm sorry," Lightning said quietly so that the squad behind her could not hear her words. She was always careful that they never heard her speak. "But I can't let you hurt this group of investigators."

"What would people say if they heard you turned on your own kind to protect the Doves? Might get quite ugly for you."

"I'm willing to take my chances."

Four dark purple and black tentacles exited from her back and sharpened at the end before facing their target.

"Leave now, and I won't hurt you."

Black Rose just laughed again. "Oh, please, 'Lightning', was it? I could take you with my eyes closed."

Before he had even finished his sentence, one of the purple tentacles punctured his shoulder.

"Excuse me! I was talking!"

In fury, Black Rose once again combined his large kagune and attempted to crush her. Lightning moved out of the way with barely a second to spare and used that time to stab his torso with two of her tentacles.

The ghoul coughed up blood onto the pavement. With the purple tentacles still embedded in his body, his threw his kagune towards her. Lightning once again evaded it and stabbed him with the other two tentacles.

"I didn't know it was possible for a ghoul to be so fast…" Shirazu remarked as he watched Lightning move around effortlessly.

The Quinx squad watched in awe as the purple kagune ghoul fought one of its own kind. They remained just as stunned as the first time this had happened several months ago. It was the fifth time in the last year that the infamous Lightning ghoul had come to their aid when things looked grim for them.

And it made just as much sense as the first time which was no sense at all.

Lightning tossed Black Rose a few feet away. "Go."

"I'll make you pay for this," he growled. "You shouldn't have turned your back on your kind."

"I haven't."

Black Rose may have been an overconfident ghoul, but even he knew when he was fighting a losing battle. He took off before the investigators and this Lightning character had the chance to finish him.

Lightning faced the other investigators for a brief second before bounding off.

"Wait!" Sasaki called.

It was no use. The strange ghoul was gone.

"Anyone else have a clue what's going on?" Shirazu asked the rest of the squad.

"Not at all," Mutsuki replied. "Why would a ghoul fight to help us? Do you think they're a half-ghoul like us?"

"I doubt it," Urie put in. "(Idiot.) Otherwise, they wouldn't feel like they had to hide their face from us. Half-ghouls like us don't use masks. (The coward)."

"What do you think, Teach?"

Sasaki stared off in the direction the lightning-clad ghoul had left. Since the first time that person had come to their aid, he felt that there was something really familiar about the ghoul but he could never place just exactly what it was that made him feel that way.

He could still remember the first time he had ever seen Lightning. He had been in the middle of a fight with a pretty experienced ghoul, and he'd lost his quinque on top of it all. Just when he thought his life was over, the lightning-masked ghoul had appeared in front of him. He had been admittedly rather terrified, thinking that he was now up against two ghouls instead of one. But to his shock, the newcomer had begun fighting the other ghoul rather than him and only took off once he was safe.

"Come on, let's head back," he said to his squad.

Far from the scene of the fight, Reina whipped off her mask and leaned against the wall, panting heavily. Fighting had become so much harder lately. She had a pretty good idea of what the reason was, but she didn't want to think too much about it or what would happen if this continued.

Instead, she headed home to nurse her most recent wounds.


	2. Kaneki Meets Corie

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

Life isn't fair. Life is cruel and sick.

Those were the only words running through Kaneki's mind as he ran from his date.

His date who turned out to be a ghoul.

That was what he got for thinking that someone as beautiful as her could possibly be interested in someone like him. A beautiful girl who loved reading and enjoyed going to a bookstore on a first date? He should've known it had been too good to be true. She had never liked him. She only wanted him so she could eat him.

White-hot pain tore through him as the girl's kagune ripped out a chunk of his side. The sharp tentacle wrapped around his body and lifted him into the air.

He prayed for his death to be quick and painless. After everything he'd been put through, the universe could at least give him that, right?

Suddenly, someone landed right next to them.

"Rize," the person said lowly.

Kaneki's mind could barely work anymore, but he was able to tell that this new person was a girl. And she knew Rize. Was he about to be eaten by _two_ ghouls?

Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it would mean he'd die sooner.

The girl stood up from her crouch and faced his purple-haired killer date.

"Oh, so _you're_ back," Rize smirked.

"Just in time, it looks like. I see you found another poor unsuspecting boy to sink your skinny little claws into."

"Don't you know it's rude to interrupt someone else's meal?"

"Let him go."

Wait, did this new ghoul just tell Rize to let him go? Did she want to eat him herself?

…Or could it be that she was trying to save him?

No, that wasn't possible. Ghouls never wanted to save humans. They were just mindless killers. All they cared about was eating whoever they could get their hands on.

"He's as good as dead anyway by now," Rize laughed. "Might as well make the most of him. I can't let something this delicious go to waste."

"I said let him go."

"Or what? You know, the others won't be happy you've come into my feeding grounds."

"You took over everyone's feeding grounds. I'm pretty sure that they all wish someone had stopped you sooner." The girl exposed her kakugan and released four purple and black tentacles from her back. "Guess that job is gonna have to fall to me."

One of the tentacles aimed straight at Rize, but the purple-haired ghoul was fast enough to block it with her own kagune and use another tentacle to hit the other girl in the stomach which sent her flying several feet away from them.

Rize tossed Kaneki into the cement wall and laughed. "I like bodies like yours, Kaneki. Just the right amount of fat. You're not very muscular, so you're tender. I wonder if you'll taste better than the two I ate earlier this week."

The girl lifted up her kagune to prepare for another strike…when a stack of steel beams fell directly on top of Rize. She quickly backed away from the pile in shock and disbelief.

The only thing she could see under the pile was Rize's hand in addition to a growing pool of blood leaking out from the beams.

She didn't know how that had happened or who was responsible, but she would have to worry about it later.

She quickly ran over to the semi-conscious boy. "Hey!"

The boy stared straight through her, his eyes beginning to droop closed.

"I'm not going to hurt you!" she told him, knowing that the conscious part of him must surely think she was about to eat him. "It's going to be okay. Just stay with me, all right? An ambulance is on its way, so just stay with me now. Stay with me! Please!"

The smell of his sweet blood and torn flesh reached her nose.

"Oh, wow…you smell amazing…"

For the briefest of moments, she wondered what his flesh would taste like. Maybe just a very small bite…

She quickly shook her head, remembering her original purpose for being here. She gently put her hand on his head. "Stay with me, okay? You're going to be all right, but you need to stay with me! Come on! Stay with me!"

The sound of a siren pierced the night air, getting louder and louder as it drew closer.

The girl looked back at the boy. "You're going to be okay."

She quickly bounded off before anyone could see her. As she watched the paramedics load the poor boy into the ambulance from her perch on the rooftop, she could only hope that he survived the trip to the hospital and the surgery he was definitely going to need.

She winced as her hands suddenly twinged with pain.

When she looked down at them, she saw her nails were cracked and bloody as a result of her grinding the pavement to stop herself from eating him.

* * *

Kaneki was at his wit's end. He was hungry, he was weak, and to top it off, he had become a freak of nature.

He was pretty sure life had decided to give him the short stick on every possible thing it could. Why couldn't Rize have just killed him quickly?

He needed help, and he only knew of one person who could possibly offer it to him.

"I'm sorry, sir, we're closed," the dark purple-haired waitress said to him as he approached the coffee shop. "Oh," she added when she realized who it was.

That same strange kid from before. The one with only one kakugan.

"You're…" Kaneki started. "Please help me…" He got down onto his knees before her. "_PLEASE_! You're the only person I can go to. Ever since my body's become like this, things have been nothing but awful. Please…I…"

"No," the girl said bluntly.

Kaneki looked up at her pleadingly.

"Judging from that eye and what you're saying, you used to be human, but now you're a ghoul? Hm, tell me, former human. What does cake really taste like? It's so nasty it makes me want to puke, so I don't know. But humans really seem to enjoy it. Donuts and tarts too. What was it like living without fearing for your life? Not having to be afraid of ghoul investigators or other crazy ghouls? Come on…TELL ME!"

Kaneki was at a loss for words. All he wanted was someone, anyone, to make his life better than the hellish nightmare he was currently stuck in. Why did this girl hate him so much already? What had he ever done to her?

She glared down at him with nothing but hatred. "Does that mean that things have been nothing but awful for me since the moment I was born? Like I would help you. You can die for all I care."

"Touka."

Both Kaneki and the girl turned to the door of the coffee shop. There stood a girl somewhat older than the both of them wearing a black beanie to cover long, wavy, dark blonde hair.

"Go inside."

"But—" Touka started.

"_Now_."

Touka clenched her jaw and went inside the coffee shop, making sure to slam the door as loud as she could behind her.

The girl slowly knelt down in front of Kaneki. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.

Kaneki looked up at her concern-filled eyes. He recognized her, but he couldn't say why. He knew he'd heard that voice before.

Her eyes widened in shock, both because she realized who he was and the fact that only one of his eyes was a kakugan. "You're that guy who went on a date with Rize."

Wait a minute…was she the girl who had tried to save him?

"You look terrible. When's the last time you've eaten something?"

Kaneki didn't answer.

"Let me clarify. When's the last time you've eaten something and it didn't come back up?"

Again, Kaneki didn't say anything because he honestly couldn't even remember.

"Was it when you went on your date with Rize? That was almost a month ago. You must be starving."

As if in response, his stomach growled for the millionth time.

"Okay, why don't you come inside?"

The girl stood up and Kaneki unintentionally flinched.

"No one's going to hurt you, I promise. We just want to help you feel better."

She held out her hand for him, but Kaneki stood up on his own.

The girl opened the door to the coffee shop. "My name's Corie, by the way. Nice to meet you. Sorry it's not under better circumstances."

Kaneki timidly followed Corie into the shop. This was the most concerned anyone had acted towards him in days. He wasn't sure what her idea of 'help' was, but something about her presence was really calming even if she was a ghoul.

Even if she decided to kill him, he would gladly welcome that by this point.

An older man looked at the two of them as they walked inside. Corie discreetly nodded to him.

"This is my uncle, Mr. Yoshimura," Corie introduced. "And you've already met Touka. I'll apologize for her rudeness since she won't do it herself."

Touka glared at Corie. "Are you crazy?! Why did you bring him inside?! He used to be human!"

Yoshimura looked Kaneki over, taking note of his one kakugan eye. "He looks like one of us to me." He smiled calmly at Touka. "And I'm sure you know about our policy at Anteiku, Touka. Ghouls help one another."

Touka gritted her teeth but didn't say anything more.

"Come with me," Yoshimura said kindly to Kaneki.

Corie, Touka, and Yoshimura led Kaneki below the coffee shop to a large refrigerator.

"Watch your step." He opened up the refrigerator and pulled out a small package. "I'll give you one package for the time being." He politely handed the package to the shy boy. "Come by again when you need more. Don't be a stranger."

Kaneki took the package from him and eyed it with horror. It was clear he knew exactly what the contents were.

"Th-thank you," he stuttered with a small bow. He then nervously left the shop, clearly out of sorts after being around so many ghouls at once.

"Why help him, sir?" Touka asked angrily once he was gone.

"Touka, have you seen the recent news about the organ transplant case?" Yoshimura asked her.

"No, not really."

"It all started when steel beams fell on some students. One of the victims, a female student, died instantly. The other one, a young man, was on the brink of death. He needed an emergency organ transplant. The doctor chose to transplant the dead girl's organs into the young man. It seems those organs belonged to Rize."

"Rize?! She…she died? In an accident?"

"The injury must've been so severe that not even a ghoul's regenerative abilities could repair the damage. And so Rize's organs were used."

"So now there's a human with ghoul organs inside them? Sir…his eye. Could it be…?"

"Yes. It's him. I've never heard of anything like this before. Perhaps his body is becoming more like ours."

Corie looked off in the direction Kaneki had gone. "That poor boy…"

* * *

Touka walked in from the back as Corie wiped down the counter of the closed coffee shop.

"What's got you so steamed?" Corie asked. "More than usual, I mean."

Touka clenched her jaw again. "I saw that dumb kid again."

"You mean the guy who got Rize's organs?"

"Yeah."

"How's he doing? Did he look any better?"

"Why do you care?"

"Just answer the question."

"No. He still hasn't eaten."

Corie sighed heavily. He must've looked even worse than yesterday which was saying something because he had looked awful. "Where'd you find him anyway?"

"Nishiki killed a ghoul who was feeding then tried to kill him for stepping on his feeding grounds."

Corie shook her head. "That moron…"

"I tried to force him to eat, but he still wouldn't. He's going to end up losing it soon if he's not careful."

"You tried to _what_?!"

"It was for his own good."

"I seriously doubt your attempts at helping did any good. Touka, you can't just expect him to suddenly accept the fact that he needs to eat human flesh to curve his hunger. Can't you see the kid's terrified?"

"Coddling him isn't going to help at all."

"Are you kidding? Coddling's probably what he needs most right now."

Touka glared at her. "I know why you want to help him so bad. He may look like him, but it's not him."

"That doesn't mean he's any less deserving of our help."

"Yes, it does! You know what he said?! He said that he's not a monster like we are!"

"Touka, chill. In case you haven't noticed, we are monsters. We come straight out of a flipping horror movie. Sure, this life is normal for us, but it is most certainly not the world's normal. And no matter how you put it, there's nothing okay about having to eat human flesh to survive. I mean, how many times have all of us dreamed of what it might be like to be human?"

Touka silenced as she pursed her lips.

"In his case, he actually knows. And now he's been forced into this bizarre and awful world completely against his will. He must be scared out of his mind with no clue what to do and no one to turn to. There is no one out there who knows what he's feeling right now. That's why we need to be there for him."

"Whatever. I'm done helping out that freak."

Corie rolled her eyes and went back to wiping up the counter. As much as she felt for the boy's situation, if he didn't eat something soon, he was going to do something he would later regret.


	3. Lightning

**_Reina=27_**

**_Sasaki=22_**

Reina opened her eyes, surprised she had woken up before her alarm.

_That's strange_, she thought. _It's brighter in here than usual_.

She turned and looked at the clock.

"Oh, _crap_!" she exclaimed when she saw the time.

Her alarm hadn't gone off!

Reina bolted out of bed and hurriedly did her morning routine as fast as she possibly could. It still took half an hour. Curse all her necessary steps to get ready!

She then grabbed her bag and bolted out the door.

The most frustrating part was that she knew she could get to the building within a couple minutes if she really tried, but due to having to do things the normal way, she was forced to take the 45-minute train ride.

Once she disembarked, she tried to fish through her bag for her phone with one hand while holding a stack of files and folders in the other.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed to her supervisor on the other end. "I overslept! I'm walking in the building right—"

Her sentence was cut off when she slammed directly into someone, sending her files and phone sprawling onto the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" she said quickly as she knelt to gather up her spilled paperwork.

"No, it was my fault."

Reina looked up at the sound of such a familiar voice.

She found herself looking right into the eyes of Haise Sasaki.

"Here."

Sasaki handed her some of her papers.

Reina slowly reached out and took them from his awaiting hand. "Uh…thanks."

"I don't believe we've met. You're not an investigator, are you?"

"Um…no. I work in the administrative department."

"Oh, I see. I'm Haise Sasaki, but you probably already know that if you do all the administrative work. This is my squad, Tooru Mutsuki, Ginshi Shirazu, and Kuki Urie. Miss Yonebayashi is…busy."

Shirazu scoffed under his breath. "Busy, my butt…"

Reina nervously pushed her bangs behind her ear. "My name is Reina Furukawa. Nice to meet you all."

"I shouldn't keep you from work. From the looks of it, you were running late."

"Uh, right. Good luck with…wherever it is you guys are headed."

"Thanks. Good luck to you too with all that paperwork. It may not seem like the most glamourous job, but it is a really big help to us."

Reina quickly rushed off to her department, quickly passing through the RC gates.

Shirazu elbowed Sasaki in the ribs. "Looks like you've got yourself an admirer," he teased.

"What do you mean?" Sasaki asked.

"Did you see how she was looking at you? She's got a thing for you."

Sasaki laughed kindly. "No, she was just flustered because she was late for work."

"Come on, Mutsuki, back me up here."

Mutsuki nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I gotta agree with Teach."

"What?! You guys are no fun!"

"Don't you think she's a little old for me anyway?" Sasaki asked him.

"Aw, age is but a number. What do you think, Urie?"

Urie didn't answer as he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and walked ahead of them.

"Killjoy…"

Reina looked back at the departing squad. She could feel tears blurring her vision that she tried to push back for fear they would mess up her contacts.

Those eyes…

That was what hurt the most. How Haise Sasaki looked at her with those eyes.

The eyes that had no idea who she was to him.

* * *

As Reina walked home from a long day at work, she expected to have an uneventful evening. The whole event with Sasaki and his squad several weeks ago was a pretty rare occurrence.

She had watched a lot of his fights.

…A lot.

…Probably more than she should have.

But she was so, so terrified of the possibility of him dying. So she would watch his many, many fights from the shadows. If things got out of hand, she stepped in to save him. She had to make sure not to do it too often so that he never found out Lightning's true identity. If word got out a ghoul was working at the CCG, all hell would break loose.

Her keen hearing picked up the clear sounds of a battle between a ghoul and an investigator. There really wasn't any other sound like a kagune and quinque clashing.

Her head turned towards the sounds. She focused all of her attention on locating the source of the noise. There was a huge chance that it wasn't Sasaki fighting, but there was also a chance that it was. And if there was even a 1% chance that it could be him, she would be there.

By the time she made it to the scene of the fight, her heart plummeted when she saw that it was indeed Sasaki and his squad fighting a ghoul she didn't know the name of.

And the ghoul was winning.

Reina furiously pulled out her black hoodie and mask and tried to put them on as quickly as she could. There was no time for her to get the wig off. It was secured with way too many pins and every second she spent trying to get the dumb thing off was one more moment she wasn't helping Sasaki.

She tied the fake black hair into a low ponytail and hoped that the investigators wouldn't be able to see it since they knew by now that Lightning had dark blonde hair.

Just as the ghoul was about to stab a weakened Sasaki with his kagune, Lightning jumped in between them and shielded the investigator with her purple tentacles.

"Who…who are you?" Sasaki wheezed.

Lightning didn't answer.

Instead, she faced the ghoul and fought him in a flurry of kagune, kicks, and punches. Sasaki knew that he was supposed to be against ghouls, but even after all this time, he couldn't help but be absolutely fascinated by Lightning's way of fighting. She had such excellent control over her kagune that she barely even needed to move in order to use it. In addition, she was incredibly fast. She was one of the fastest ghouls he had ever seen. Maybe that was why the CCG still hadn't caught her. But then as far as he knew, she had only appeared a few times in the last year or so and usually not long enough for anyone to pinpoint any major defining features that might help track her down.

The other ghoul made it clear that this fight was going to be to the death.

So Lightning obliged his wish.

When he came after her for the fourth time, she quickly stabbed him in the head, heart, and abdomen with her purple tentacles. With the last tentacle, she decapitated him.

Lightning did not risk a glance at the rest of the squad and quickly ran off.

"Wait!" Sasaki called.

Mustering up his remaining strength, he stood up and ran after the ghoul.

The rest of his squad started to follow him, but he quickly got far ahead of them.

He wanted to meet Lightning on his own. He knew that as an investigator, he was supposed to either bring her in or kill her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not when she had protected him multiple times. He wanted to know who she was and why she continued to help him.

If it was just him, he could promise that he wouldn't reveal her identity to the CCG or bring her in for questioning.

The problem was he had to catch up to her first.

With ragged breaths, Reina quickly tried to get away from the pursuing investigator.

What was the man doing? He had never followed her before! Why _now_ of all times?

Her hand touched her stomach…and came back drenched in blood. The other ghoul's kagune had pierced her abdomen during their fight. She had managed to mask the injury and pretend she hadn't gotten hurt, but now that the adrenaline had worn off, it was a different story. Sweat poured down her forehead and her vision began to blur before her.

"Come on…" she mumbled. "Heal. Please! Heal!"

She had to get away! Sasaki was still after her! She couldn't let him see her!

It was no use. She could barely move her legs much less use her kagune to escape. Sasaki was going to find her. So she had to make sure that he didn't find out she was Lightning.

She quickly whipped off her black hoodie and tossed it aside where no one could see it. Then she discarded her mask in a separate location far from the hoodie. Hopefully, she could come back for it. If not, she would have to make sure she got a new mask.

Then she kept trudging on to put distance between herself and her items that identified her as a ghoul. Holding her wound with one hand, she just managed to slip on her glasses before collapsing to the ground.

She knew why her wound wasn't healing. It wasn't because it was caused by a kagune which healed slower than other injuries. All wounds she received had taken much longer to heal in the more recent months. It was her own fault, but she was usually so careful…

Low sadistic chuckles reached her disorientated state. "Well, isn't this peachy?"

Of all the ghouls to come across her like this.

Black Rose smirked darkly. "This saves me the trouble of trying to find you. I almost didn't recognize ya, but there's no mistaking that scent."

_This is it_, Reina thought. _After all the things I've been through, this is how I die. It's almost pathetic. I'm…I'm sorry…I couldn't help you further…_

As Black Rose hovered over her with his kagune in full view, Reina prepared for the killing blow.

But it never came.

A quinque came out of nowhere and stabbed Black Rose directly in the head.

Sasaki ran over to the civilian. "Are you all right?!" His eyes widened in recognition. "Miss Furukawa?!"

Reina weakly looked up at the investigator. Maybe she wasn't in the clear yet. At least she still had her wig on. How much longer it would stay on remained to be seen.

"Just stay with me! You'll be okay! Stay with me, all right?!"

Sasaki gently lifted the woman into his arms and carried her out of the alleyway.

"Teach?!" Mutsuki exclaimed when the rest of the squad caught up with the senior investigator. "Wait a minute, isn't that…?"

"Come on. Let's get back to the chateau."

"Shouldn't we get her to a hospital?"

"She'll be fine once we get her to a bed! Now help me get her back! That's an order!"

At that, the rest of the squad silenced and assisted their leader in getting the injured woman back to their quarters.

* * *

"Remind me again why she isn't in a hospital," Shirazu complained as all the members of the Quinx squad (minus Saiko who was still holed up in her bedroom) met in the living room.

"The wound wasn't deep," Sasaki explained. "I knew I could just take care of it myself back here."

"It wasn't exactly just a paper cut."

"She said she works in the administrative department. The CCG only offers major health benefits to investigators, so there's a high chance she won't be able to afford a lengthy hospital stay. Why put her through the stress of trying to pay everything off when I can do it for free?"

"But have you seen her? She looks awful and I think she's running a pretty high fever. You can only do so much here."

"We have all the necessary supplies to deal with injuries inflicted by other ghouls. It's part of the territory of being an investigator."

"Our supplies are limited."

"Well, I also think that it would do her good to see some familiar faces when she wakes up again. Getting attacked by a ghoul is really scary, especially for someone who's not used to facing them as often as we are. Black Rose nearly killed her. She's probably going to be pretty traumatized and it might bring her a little peace of mind that she's with people she knows."

"But—"

"Shirazu, do you trust my judgement?"

"Well…yeah, but I mean—"

"Then let me handle this. If she continues to get worse, I promise we'll take her to the hospital, but for now, she'll be fine with us taking care of her."

"Us?" Urie said coldly.

"Yes, I do expect you to help out as she gets better. And I'd expect anyone from the CCG to do the same for you. We look out for our own even if we work in different departments."

Urie scoffed and crossed his arms.

Sasaki went up to his room where he had laid his coworker to rest. He had already bandaged up her wound, but she had started to run a fever since then.

She looked to be in pain even while asleep. Sasaki gently ran a damp cloth over her forehead to cool her down.

Reina slowly cracked her eyes open.

"Hey, Miss Furukawa. It's me, Sasaki. Remember, from the CCG?"

Her eyes seemed to stare straight through him, and for all he knew, she wasn't even aware that she was looking at him.

"You're safe in our home. No one's going to hurt you, okay? Do you think you can eat something?"

Reina let out a quiet groan in response.

Sasaki went to the kitchen and prepared a small bowl of soup. Then he brought it up to his room.

"Miss Furukawa? I brought some soup for you. It should help you feel a little better."

Sasaki gently tilted her head up and brought the spoon to her lips.

Reina promptly flung her head over the side of the bed and vomited onto the floor.

While Sasaki managed to avoid it, that wood was probably never going to be the same.

He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't think my cooking was that bad."

Reina collapsed back onto the bed and fell back to sleep.

Sasaki sighed. He didn't want to admit it to his squad but the main reason he had brought Reina back here was because he wanted to keep her close. A large part of him wondered if this could be the famous Lightning.

But that seemed impossible. Too many things didn't add up.

For one, if she was a ghoul, this injury would've healed before he even had a chance to treat it. And did ghouls even get fevers?

Lightning had dark blonde hair and didn't wear glasses.

Sure, he had come across Reina while following Lightning, and while it could mean something, it was most likely just coincidence or incredibly good luck for Reina. If Reina was Lightning, she would've been able to defend herself against Black Rose. He had seen Lightning get injured before and still fight and defeat her opponents. A small injury like this one wouldn't have been enough to knock her down.

He was just overthinking things as usual, he was sure.

A few hours later, Sasaki was fixing up some dinner for his squad when Urie passed by the dining room.

"Urie!" Sasaki called. "Go check on Miss Furukawa, please."

Urie glared at his superior but nevertheless did as he was ordered. When he peeked in the room to see their newest guest, he had every intention of just telling Sasaki that she was asleep even if she wasn't so he wouldn't be bothered with her anymore.

However, when he noticed quiet whimpers escaping her lips as she slept, he became intrigued (though he would never admit it) and stepped further into the room until he was standing next to the bed.

Suddenly, the woman's eyes shot open and Urie was embarrassed he'd been caught staring at her.

She quickly clutched onto his hand with wide fearful eyes. "Don't let them take him," she pleaded. "Please! Not again! Please don't let them take him!"

Urie quickly wrenched his hand out of her grip and took a few steps back. The woman leaned back onto the pillow and closed her eyes, probably unaware of what had just occurred.

…Who was 'him'? Was it just the product of a feverish nightmare? Or was it something else? Something very real?

Urie put his hand to Reina's forehead. Then he quietly left the room and headed back downstairs.

"How is she?" Sasaki asked.

"I think the fever's breaking. She'll be out of our hair soon enough."

"Urie, you could show a little concern. What if she's the one who ends up saving your backside one of these days?"

Urie scoffed. As if a weak _human_, a woman no less, could possibly save a Quinx. When the day came where a ghoul looked him in the eye and didn't try to kill him on the spot, that would be the day he would believe a woman, human or not, could save him.

* * *

Reina slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she registered was that her head was incredibly sore and her eyes felt like they were on fire.

Once her vision somewhat cleared, she looked around her.

…Why did she not recognize this place? Why wasn't she at home?

Reina frantically tried to remember what had happened since blacking out. There was the fight with the ghoul, the injury, Black Rose, and him…

Several voices sounded outside the door.

"How long do you plan on keeping her here?" someone asked.

"As long as it takes for her to get better."

"What if that's months?!"

"Don't be so dramatic, Shirazu. I told you she'll be fine. Her fever broke last night, so she shouldn't be here for more than a few days."

_I'm in a house full of ghoul investigators!_ Reina panicked. _I've got to get out of here now!_

She looked around the room for a means of escape and realized the only way out without alerting the others was through the window.

Well, she had escaped with less accessible means before. This would be a cinch.

She quickly went to get out of the bed but cried out when a surge of pain shot through her stomach. She lifted the blanket and saw a bloodied bandage wrapped around the large injury on her stomach.

_I…I still haven't healed?_

This was the longest she'd ever had an injury even one received from a kagune. That wasn't good.

All of the other investigators ran into the room at the sound of her pain, and Reina looked up at them with alarm.

"Miss Furukawa?" Sasaki said gently. "I'm Haise Sasaki from the CCG. We met a few days ago, remember?"

Reina faintly nodded.

"I found you after Black Rose attacked you and I brought you here to treat your wounds. How are you feeling?"

Reina quickly searched for words, but she was so nervous due to the combination of her wound not healing and the fact that she was surrounded by people who killed her kind for a living that she could not find the appropriate ones. Not to mention that her head was killing her from the hundreds of bobby pins securing her wig which had miraculously managed to stay on throughout everything and her contacts searing her eyes out of her skull.

"How long have I been out?" she finally asked.

"A day and a half. Do you feel any better?"

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine. Thank you…for everything." Reina slowly eased herself out of the bed, blushing when she realized it was most likely Sasaki's. "But, um…I should go."

"Well, I've just put some breakfast out on the table. You should eat something. You haven't eaten anything since I found you."

"Thank you, but…I'll get something on the way home."

She _did_ want to eat, but she definitely didn't want anything he was serving. If she just got something to eat, her wound would probably heal. It _had_ been a while since she'd eaten something and she was starting to feel it.

Reina gave a small bow and proceeded out of the bedroom.

"Miss Furukawa, please, I insist you join us or at least let me escort you home. I don't think you should be alone after everything you went through yesterday."

Reina did _not_ want any of these people to know where she lived.

"I'll be okay, Mr. Sasaki. Thank you again for everything. Now I-I really have to go."

"Miss Furukawa!"

Reina ignored him and how much her stomach hurt both from the injury and her hunger and proceeded to bolt out of the chateau. She had to get out before things got worse. Or before they put two and two together and figured out what had really happened yesterday.

"So much for it being better to wake up with people she knows," Shirazu muttered.

_How could I have been so stupid?! _Reina berated herself as she walked down the sidewalk. It would've been better if she had just been killed by Black Rose! Now that she had spent an entire day and night with investigators, who knew how much longer it would be before her cover was blown!

She wondered what would have happened if Sasaki knew she was a ghoul. Would he have killed her without a second thought? Or would he have kept her for interrogation? Would he have still treated her with kindness and bandaged her wounds?

Reina groaned and ran into a bathroom. She yanked her wig off and massaged her scalp once all the horrible pins stopped digging into it. Then she quickly took out her contacts and blinked furiously to rid her eyes of the pain.

This was exhausting. The aches and pains and all of the many lies she told on a daily basis. Sometimes it felt like if she did this for one more day, the pressure of it all would simply crush her as if she weighed no more than a damaged leaf.

She often wondered why she put herself through all of this.

But she knew the answer to that.

And it was always worth everything.


	4. Uta

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

Corie landed on the roof of a building, observing an interesting scene occurring in an alleyway below.

After a few seconds, Touka landed next to her to see what Corie found so captivating. "That idiot," she growled when she looked at the events currently playing out.

She started to jump down, but Corie held her arm out to stop her. "Wait."

The two girls looked down to see Kaneki, now sporting a medical eyepatch to cover his one kakugan eye, injured and bleeding while Nishiki prepared to kill an unconscious blond-haired boy she presumed to be someone Kaneki knew.

Kaneki forced himself up and threw his head back. "NO!" he screamed to the ghoul. "_I won't let that happen_!"

To their shock, three red tentacles ripped their way out of his back.

Some very familiar tentacles.

One of the tentacles stretched all the way across the alley and ambushed Nishiki. Nishiki laughed as he jumped up and dodged the sudden kagune strike. He used his blue kagune to attack Kaneki, but Kaneki just fended off his attacks with his own tentacles before latching onto Nishiki's kagune.

"Nice try!" Nishiki smirked.

He brought his blue kagune in and tried to kick Kaneki, but Kaneki evaded the kick and pierced him in the abdomen with all of his tentacles. Then he proceeded to mercilessly stab Nishiki through his body hundreds of times. Blood coated the entirety of the alley as it sprayed from Nishiki's injuries.

"Stop it! Stop!" Nishiki pleaded. "Keep this up and you'll kill me!"

Kaneki used his tentacles to throw Nishiki against the wall where he slumped into unconsciousness.

Panting heavily, Kaneki looked over at the blond boy. "Hide…"

A crazed look took over his face and he fell to his knees in obvious pain. He began giggling like a madman as he crawled over to the unconscious boy.

"What was I thinking?" he gasped. "I can't let this feast go to waste…"

"Let's go," Corie said having seen enough.

Corie and Touka jumped from the roof and landed directly in front of Kaneki.

Kaneki looked up at them, unable to register who was standing in front of him. All he knew was that he wanted to eat, and he wanted to eat _now_.

"Move it," he bit out in an animalistic voice.

Corie looked at the boy sympathetically. If he had looked terrible when she had first met him, he looked absolutely horrendous now. He had been without the proper nutrition for far too long.

If Rize hadn't died, Corie would've killed that stupid woman herself for causing such an innocent kid so much pain.

"You're starting to become like one of us," Touka said. "The pain and hunger have stripped away your reason. It hurts so much you almost want to die, don't you? If it means you can be free of that pain, you don't care about your friend's life, do you?"

Kaneki hunched over and growled up at the two of them.

"After you devour him, you'll be alone, consumed with regret. In a sea of blood and guts. That's a ghoul's hunger. That's our fate. I'm fed up with it. So this one time, I'll save you from it."

Touka showed both of her kakugan and released her vibrant winged kagune.

"Sorry, Kaneki," Corie apologized with a straight face. "But for once, I agree with Touka. This is for your own good."

She too activated her kakugan and released her four purple tentacles.

Touka smiled. "Go down nice and easy."

* * *

Kaneki bolted up and looked around him. He was on a couch underneath a thin blanket. He didn't recognize this room.

Where was he? How had he gotten here? The last few hours of his life were a complete blur. He remembered meeting Nishiki and then the alley and then Hide and then…

Kaneki suddenly felt nauseous. What if…he had hurt Hide? Why didn't he feel hungry anymore? What had happened?

The door creaked open and the man he had met before, Yoshimura, entered. "You're awake," he smiled. "You're on the second floor of Anteiku. Touka and Corie brought you here."

Swallowing thickly, he nervously asked, "What about my friend?"

Yoshimura lost his smile. "Come with me."

Kaneki took off the blanket and got up from the couch. When he exited the room, he saw Corie walking out of one of the other rooms down the hall.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when she saw him before quickly running up to him. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

She had changed out of her previous clothing into a black tank top. This allowed him to see a bloodied bandage on her forearm.

She noticed him staring and quickly covered the bandage with her hand, turning so he couldn't see her arm.

"Did…did I do that?" he asked softly.

"It's nothing!" Corie answered. "I barely felt it!"

Kaneki looked at her guiltily. He couldn't believe he had hurt her after she had been nothing but nice to him. She had been the only one to willingly offer a helping hand after everything he had been through, and he repaid her kindness by attacking her.

"Really, it's not that bad," Corie told him, noticing his distraught look. "I've been through way worse than this."

"Kaneki," Yoshimura said.

He opened the door to one of the rooms, and when Kaneki peeked in, he saw Hide lying on a bed with a damp cloth on his forehead.

He smiled with relief and took a step forward, thankful that he hadn't actually eaten him. But then he stopped and placed his fingers to his lips.

"I've been so hungry lately…" he said quietly. "Especially yesterday. The hunger was almost killing me. I didn't know who I was anymore. But now it's completely gone. I can tell the blood on my mouth isn't mine. Please answer me truthfully." He turned to face Yoshimura and Corie. "What did you do while I was asleep?"

Corie and Yoshimura shared a silent look before Corie looked away from him shamefully.

"There is only one way to satisfy a ghoul's hunger," Yoshimura stated. "You know what that is, don't you?"

Kaneki looked at him in horror.

Yoshimura gently put a hand on his shoulder. "The way you were going, you would have taken your friend's life. Accept what you are."

Hide turned over in his sleep, oblivious to the conversation.

Corie looked at Kaneki sadly, wishing there was something more she could do for him.

Kaneki tightened his fists. "I…I don't want to hurt a friend. I can't be around Hide anymore. I can't live in the ghoul's world either. I'm neither human nor a ghoul. I'm…" Tears began to sink down his face. "I'm alone."

Corie rushed to his side and put her hand on his arm. "That's not true," she said firmly. "You're not alone."

"My niece is correct," Yoshimura smiled. "You are both a ghoul and human at the same time. You are the only person who has a place in both worlds."

Kaneki turned to look at the older man who was smiling at him.

"Stay here at Anteiku. We'll teach you how we ghouls live. I'm sure it will open a path to protecting your other world. And we would like for you, a human, to learn more about us. See for yourself whether or not we are just ravenous beasts. How about it? We'll have you start by learning how to brew a proper cup of coffee."

Kaneki sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Oh…um, I've never had a job before, so um…uh, do…do you think I could do it?"

Corie gave him a comforting smile. "Of course you can. I think it'll be pretty interesting having you around here."

Kaneki gave a small nod. "Thank you…for helping me."

"Any time." She gently put her hand on his shoulder. "I may not know exactly what it's like to go from human to ghoul, but if you ever need help or just need to talk, I'm here. And I'll teach you anything you want to know. So…you don't have to feel like you're alone."

"Um…thank you."

When Kaneki left the room, Corie crossed her arms over her chest and turned to face her uncle, her smile quickly disappearing.

"You should've seen that fight," she said softly. "I mean, I could understand having a different diet and maybe some enhanced abilities upon receiving a ghoul's organs, but…having a kagune too? And not just any kagune, but Rize's kagune? Wouldn't that mean her kakuhou was given to him in the transplant? And that would have to mean that the doctor knew Rize was a ghoul."

"I don't know," Yoshimura answered. "Something like this has never happened before. We have no way of knowing what happened, how it happened, or what will happen now. All we can do is learn as we go."

"Something tells me the doctor who did the transplant knows a lot more than he let on."

* * *

The bell in the shop rang, signaling someone's entrance.

"Welcome to…" Kaneki started.

"Oh, are you new here?" the beautiful woman smiled at him.

"Uh, yes. My name is Kaneki."

"We're the Fueguchis." She looked down at the little girl next to her. "Come on, Hinami. Say hello."

The girl hid behind her mother's skirt.

"I'm sorry, she's very shy."

"Hello," Kaneki smiled at her.

"Hello…" Hinami answered quietly.

"Ryoko!" Corie smiled coming down the stairs. She laughed and gave the woman a tight hug.

"Hi, Corie, I didn't realize you were back," Ryoko said excitedly.

"Yeah, I got back about a month ago." She knelt down in front of Hinami and held out her arms. "Hi, Hinami!"

Hinami gave her a tight hug as well, clearly on better terms with her than with Kaneki.

"Ryoko! Hinami!" Touka exclaimed.

"Hi, Touka," Ryoko smiled back.

"The manager's waiting upstairs. You can go right up."

The two females disappeared to the upper part of the coffee shop.

"Are they ghouls?" Kaneki asked.

"Yup," Touka answered.

"Why can't they talk down here? There's nobody here."

"They only came to pick up a package."

"A package?"

Touka looked over at him. "Meat."

"…Meat? But why?"

"Same reason as you. They can't hunt on their own."

"Can't hunt? What's that mean? Is there a rule that says they can't? Like an age or gender restriction?"

"Your constant questioning is annoying! Ask them yourself if you want to know!"

Touka pounded off to the front counter.

Corie rolled her eyes. "As you may have guessed, finding food for ghouls isn't really an easy task. Some ghouls just don't have the energy or the necessary knowledge to do all that is required in a hunt. And some ghouls are similar to you. They just can't stomach it."

"…Oh."

"The thing is…all people know when they think of ghouls is a killer with no regard for human life. It really isn't like that at all. Sure, some of us are nuts, but I could say the same for humans, couldn't I? The world isn't so black and white, and it never has been nor will it ever be."

Kaneki was ashamed to admit that he'd thought that way as well. But after meeting Yoshimura, Corie, and even Touka, it wasn't so easy to say that ghouls were just senseless killers.

* * *

"A mask?"

"Yes, I thought you should have one too," Yoshimura explained. "I have one myself. As do Touka and Corie."

"Really?"

"Touka?"

Touka turned to face them manager. "Yes, sir?"

"Do you mind taking Kaneki to get his mask made on your next day off?"

"Huh?! Why do I have to spend my day off with his guy?!"

"He may get lost if he goes alone, and he'll be afraid to be alone with Uta."

Corie smiled to herself as she pictured the shy Kaneki alone with the very unusual Uta.

"Why can't Corie go?!"

"Why don't you both go?"

"Ugh…does he really need a mask right now?"

"Well…I heard from Yomo that there are two investigators in our ward."

Both Touka and Corie's heads snapped over to look at Yoshimura and Kaneki wondered what warranted such a worried look.

"I wanted him to have one just in case."

Touka sighed heavily. "Fine." She turned and glared at Kaneki. "Eyepatch! Saturday, 4:30, Shinjuku Station, East Exit. You're late, and I'll kill you."

"Geez, Touka," Corie remarked. "I wasn't going to come, but now I will just to help keep the peace."

* * *

HySy ArtMask Studio.

That was where Kaneki, Touka, and Corie found themselves on Saturday evening.

"Uta, you here?" Touka called out to the seemingly empty red-tinted shop.

Kaneki looked around at all the various masks hanging both on the wall and in glass cases. They were a little scary to look at, and he felt like the eyes were following him.

"Wonder if he's sleeping…"

The eerie silence in the shop was interrupted by Kaneki's panicked screaming.

Touka turned in surprise and then glared. "What are you doing?"

The man in question stared down at Kaneki who had landed in the floor after the shock of uncovering Uta's face beneath a sheet. "I thought I'd scare him."

Corie walked up to Uta and bumped fists with him. "Hey, Uta."

"Hey, Cor. I'd heard you were back. Glad to see the rumors were true."

"Itori's gossiping again, huh?"

Touka faced Kaneki. "This is Uta. He makes masks for ghouls."

"Nice to meet you," Uta told him with no expression so Kaneki couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I'm Kaneki," the boy said nervously. "Nice to meet you too."

Uta came up way too close to his face and tilted his head. "So you're the boy Mr. Yoshimura mentioned." To Kaneki's horror, Uta sniffed his neck. "Your scent…it's unusual."

"Uta, you're scaring him," Touka said.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. So he needs a mask, is that right, Touka?"

"Yeah, we have to be a little cautious right now."

"You got investigators sniffing around, don't you? Heard Renji spotted them."

"Yeah, Yomo did. Did the manager tell you?"

"Yeah. The 20th ward's been well-behaved, so they've never paid much attention to it."

"Is it because of Rize?"

"If so, she's the worst."

"Um…" Kaneki interrupted. "Is the 20th ward relatively peaceful? It doesn't seem like that to me at all."

Uta glanced at the boy. "You'll know if you try living someplace else. Wards 1 through 4 are basically unlivable. The 13th ward is so vicious, it's scary. We have so many of our own kind in my ward, you see turf wars all the time. If you're lucky, you can sometimes see cannibalism. It's never boring. You can crash at my place for a while if you want."

Kaneki felt a little chill down his spine at the eerie eagerness in the man's voice about the idea of ghouls eating each other. "N-no, thank you…" he stuttered.

"20th is nice. It's always quiet. Having Anteiku there is big." He patted the chair in front of a mirror. "Sit down. Let me see your measurements." Uta began poking and prodding his face. "I need to know a few things. Do you have any allergies like rubber or metal?"

"No, I don't think so."

"You want a full face one? It's your first, so maybe a half-mask is better."

"…I'll leave it up to you."

"That eyepatch is cute. Is that like your thing?"

"Uh…my eye turns red when I get hungry whether I want it to or not. I wear it only when I go out."

"Then don't be hungry. You want a snack?"

Kaneki's eyes widened as Uta took out a human eye and rolled it between his fingers. He suddenly felt a strange mixture of nausea and hunger. "N-no, thank you."

Uta made notes of his measurements and Kaneki's answers to his questions.

Meanwhile, Touka and Corie examined Uta's other masks while keeping the occasional eye on the frightened boy.

"Touka, seriously, cut the poor kid some slack," Corie said quietly. "He's totally new to the world of ghouls. He's not hardened to everything like you and me are."

"You are hardly anything like me."

"I'm not going to stand here and compare backstories with you. I'm just saying that you can't constantly get upset with him for not knowing something that's common knowledge to us."

"Stop telling me how to live my life. You're such a pain."

"Maybe." She slung her arm across the girl's shoulders. "But I'm your pain."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

Uta finished getting the information he needed to make Kaneki's mask, and then the three of them began to head back to Anteiku.

"You were totally freaked out by Uta's appearance, weren't you?" Touka asked Kaneki.

"Honestly, yeah."

"I assure you, he won't take that personally," Corie said.

"But he's not at all like how he looks. Like the way he talked and everything, he was nice."

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. And he'll generally always have your back in a tight pinch. At least, he's always had mine."

"By the way, what's the mask for?"

"Huh?!" Touka yelled. "You came without knowing?! Didn't the manager explain anything to you?" She sighed heavily. "You know what ghoul investigators are? You've heard of them at least, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I've seen them on the news and stuff. I don't know much about them though."

"They're crazy. They're just itching to kill us. If we go at it with them with our faces exposed and neither of us finish each other off, things get messy. That's why we wear masks."

"Messy?"

"Are you dumb? If they can match our faces with our identities, we'd be in deep trouble, wouldn't we? Use your head a little. You idiot."

Corie rolled her eyes again. It appeared Touka was never going to follow her advice, but then when had Touka ever really listened to her?


	5. Fighting for Ryoko

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

"And so that was when I kicked his butt," Corie explained. "You should've seen it, Hinami. That guy had no idea what hit him."

Hinami giggled as she took another bite of her food. "You have the best stories."

"It's just because I'm old. I'm sure you'll have plenty of amazing stories too when you're my age."

"I hope so." She held out her fork. "You want a bite? You look hungry."

"Oh, no, that's your food. You need it more than I do."

"If it's mine, then I want to share it."

Corie smiled. "Fine. It _has_ been a while since I've eaten."

"You need to be more careful. You know what happens when you go too long without eating."

"Yeah, yeah. All right, _one_ bite."

Corie ate the food off the fork Hinami held in her hand. She knew she shouldn't be relishing in eating what was once a person…but it tasted so good. She hadn't realized how hungry she truly was until she ate something.

That was when the door opened.

The two girls looked up to see who had entered and it was none other than Kaneki. At the sight of both of them with blood on their mouths and exposed kakugans, he screamed in fear and fell backwards onto the floor.

He had seen Corie's kakugan twice before, but seeing her black and red eyes while she was eating was a different matter altogether.

"H-Hinami," he stuttered. "Uh, Corie. I didn't know you guys were here. Sorry, I didn't know. Um, uh, enjoy your meal."

Hinami wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"It's okay, sweetie," Corie said quickly. "Don't get upset. He's just not used to seeing us like that."

"What does that mean?"

"It's complicated. I'll be right back, okay?"

The girl nodded, and Corie took off outside of the room.

When she went downstairs, she saw Kaneki at the counter with Koma.

Kaneki blushed in embarrassment when he saw her. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Uh…sorry about…just now."

Corie just smiled. "I mean, for someone who isn't used to seeing that kind of thing, it probably _does_ look pretty freaky."

"But Koma says girls don't like to be seen like that."

"True, but I'm not like most girls. Trust me, if there's anyone you wanna mess up on, it's me. It takes a lot to offend me. Hinami, on the other hand…"

Koma handed a cup of coffee to Kaneki. "Take this, and go tell Hinami you're sorry."

Kaneki took the coffee from him and headed back upstairs to apologize to the shy young girl.

Corie leaned onto the counter while Koma continued cleaning the mugs. "What do you think about him?" she asked.

"He's a good kid," Koma answered. "And he's adjusting better to his new life than most people would."

"You didn't see him three weeks ago."

"Even still, it's only been a couple months since his operation, right? I mean, most people would still be freaking out, but he's managed to somewhat accept it. I think he's a lot stronger than people give him credit for."

"I feel so bad for him. Going from ghoul to human would be one thing, but I could never imagine going from human to ghoul."

"You know, most of us have our theories for why you're so attached to him."

"What is that supposed to mean? I'm not attached to him."

"Could've fooled me."

Corie quieted. "Is it that obvious?"

"I mean, you _are_ sticking around for longer than usual. But it's okay. We all understand. And it's not like any of us are in a position to judge."

"Do you think he knows?"

"He's only known you for less than a month. He wouldn't know any difference either way."

"Yeah…"

Another customer walked into the café and took a seat.

"Hey, Corie, I have my hands full here. Can you take care of that person?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Corie grabbed a menu and politely handed it to the customer at the table. "Let me know what'd you like, all right?" she asked with a broad smile.

The young girl sitting at the table smiled back. "Thank you, ma'am."

Koma smirked as she returned to the counter. "I don't know why you just won't come back to work here. You were always pretty good with the customers."

"You know I'm not usually around long enough. But I'm glad to help out when needed."

The girl raised her hand from her table. "Can I get a cappuccino, please?"

"Sure thing!" Corie replied. With expert skill, she whipped up the requested beverage in no time flat. Then she delivered it over to the girl. "Here you are! Let me know if I can get anything else for you."

"Thanks."

Ryoko and Hinami came down the stairs with Kaneki following behind them.

"Bye, Ryoko!" Corie called. "Bye, Hinami. Be careful out there with the rain, okay?"

"Bye, Corie!" Hinami giggled.

Kaneki resumed his place behind the counter.

"How'd things go with Hinami?" Corie asked him.

"Good. I was able to teach her some words she didn't understand from the book she's reading. It turns out we like the same author."

"Which author?"

"Sen Takatsuki."

"Oh, I've heard of her. I haven't read any of her stuff though."

"Ma'am?" the girl at the table called.

"I'll be right back."

Kaneki watched from the counter as Corie served the customer. "She doesn't work here, does she?" he asked Koma.

"She used to when she was in high school. But now she travels around so much that she isn't here long enough to pick it up again. She does give us all a hand if things get too busy since she knows how everything works in the shop."

"She travels by herself?"

"Yep."

"How come?"

"Sorry, man, not my story to tell."

"Oh."

He watched Corie interact with the customer at the table engaged in lively conversation. If there was one thing he knew about the young woman, she had the brightest smile he had ever seen.

* * *

Corie was at a loss for words.

There was nothing she could say to ease the pain Hinami was feeling. She knew that all too well. Any words spoken, no matter how well meaning, just inevitably made things worse.

The only thing she could do for her that would provide any comfort at all was tightly hold her in her arms, lightly running her hand over her brown hair.

But her heart was in pieces listening to her pained sobs.

She sat with her for hours until she fell asleep in her embrace.

Corie gently put her down on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Then she quietly shut the door to the room and went next door in time for Touka to storm out.

"She's sleeping now," she explained to everyone else still gathered inside.

Yoshimura sighed heavily. "Koma and Irimi, Yomo will give you a description of the investigators."

"Okay," Koma answered.

"I want to remind you not to lay a hand on them. And please urge our customers to stay alert."

Kaneki sadly looked down at his hand.

"It's nobody's fault," Yoshimura told him even though he knew it wouldn't make him feel better. "Even we ghouls hesitate to confront investigators. One saving grace is that Hinami is safe, just as Mrs. Fueguchi wished. If only I had noticed your call…I'm sorry."

The boy didn't answer.

Everyone else in the room departed, but Corie stayed behind when she saw that Kaneki wasn't leaving.

"If…" he started quietly. "If it was you or Touka and not me that showed up, maybe Mrs. Fueguchi would still be—"

"You can't think like that," Corie interrupted. "You just can't. What happened is in the past now and there's nothing any of us can do to change it so there's no use thinking about what could have or should have happened."

Kaneki quieted once again.

"…I'm sorry, that was harsh." Corie slowly sat down on the couch. "I was Hinami's age when my mom and dad died right in front of me. They were killed by investigators too."

Kaneki looked at her in surprise. He hadn't really given much thought to her parents. He had just assumed they were never in the picture. Now he wondered about everyone else's family: Touka's, Koma's, Irimi's, even Uta's.

"After they died, my uncle took me in and raised me. I spent a lot of time wondering if there was anything at all I could've done differently to save them. But it wouldn't have mattered if there was because they would still be dead and I couldn't change that."

The half-ghoul realized that while humans lost people every day to ghoul hunger, ghouls lost just as many of their own to the investigators. At the rate they were going, it was going to be a never-ending horrific battle for dominance.

Corie stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "There was nothing any of us could've done. Even if it was Touka or me, we couldn't have fought that many investigators on our own. You did the right thing by keeping Hinami safe from them, okay?"

Kaneki nodded a little.

He knew she was trying to make him feel better and he appreciated it, but he still felt completely and utterly useless.

* * *

"Hey, Touka, I need you—"

Corie stopped when she entered the room above the coffee shop where Touka had taken refuge.

She tightly clenched her jaw. "You went after the investigators, didn't you?"

Touka looked away from her as she attempted to bandage the large bleeding gash on her arm.

Corie sighed and came to sit down in front of her.

"I can do it myself," Touka insisted.

"I don't care."

Corie snatched the bandages out of Touka's hand and began to clean the injury.

Touka winced when the stinging alcohol came in contact with her skin.

"How many were there?"

"Three."

"That was stupid, and you know it."

"They deserve to die."

"And the one who gets to decide that is you?"

"They mercilessly slaughter our kind. They killed Ryoko without a second thought and they'll do the same to Hinami if they ever find her."

"And our kind does the exact same thing to them."

"_We _don't have a choice! I can't believe you're taking their side!"

"I'm not. Believe me, every part of me wants to go out there and kill them myself for what they did to that little girl. But doing what you did, killing them for revenge, it only makes us what they already fear us to be."

"If they think we're already that bad, I'm just giving them what they want."

"I understand the desire for revenge. But blind hatred won't get anyone anywhere." She let out a deep sigh. "How many did you kill?"

"Just one. I would've killed more if some freaky guy with white hair hadn't shown up."

"You could've been killed, Touka. Do you understand that? It's hard for a ghoul to go up against even one or two investigators at a time, but you decided to take on even more than that."

"They didn't even have their quinques. I would've been fine."

"No, you wouldn't have! You very well could've died, and where would that leave Hinami? She needs you now more than ever."

Touka cried out in pain when Corie accidently-on-purpose tied the bandage around her arm too tightly.

"Don't leave that little girl alone because of your foolish quest for vengeance." She got up and headed to the door. Just before she left, she quietly added, "Don't leave me alone either…"

* * *

"Yomo."

The white-haired ghoul turned to Corie.

"Come on. There's trouble."

The two of them donned their masks and quickly left the coffee shop. Using their kagunes, they reached the area where they were needed within minutes.

Corie whipped off her mask when she saw what was happening.

"Kaneki…" she said cautiously.

It was clear the boy's exposed kagune had quickly taken control of his mind. There was blood covering the ground, and she wasn't sure if it was mostly his or whoever he had been fighting.

"Kaneki, it's okay."

"Who could that be?" Kaneki asked quietly with his back still to them. He began giggling much like he had the day Corie witnessed his fight with Nishiki. "Not that it matters." He arched his head back, his one kakugan glowing red. "I'm _really hungry_."

With a crazed look in both eyes, he ran directly towards Corie, his kagune prepared to strike.

Before he could touch her, Yomo calmly stepped in front of her and took the blow himself. Kaneki's kagune impaled him directly in the abdomen.

"I think I know why Mr. Yoshimura took an interest in you now," Yomo said, completely calm even though Kaneki's kagune had gone straight through his body. He removed his mask so Kaneki could see his face. "I too would like to see what you can accomplish. Come back, Ken."

Kaneki realized who he was looking at and suddenly became very aware of what was happening. "Y-Yomo?" he gasped, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "What…what have I done?"

He quickly removed his kagune from the man's stomach.

Yomo took out a small brown package. "Eat. You'll feel better."

Kaneki's eyes widened. "I…I can't."

Corie took the package from Yomo. "Just…try not to think about it. If you don't eat right now, you might hurt someone else. Someone who can't take it as well as he can."

Kaneki sighed and took the package with a trembling hand. If he had to choose between eating and hurting someone else because he couldn't get ahold of himself, the choice was clear.

And knowing how Anteiku found their food made it just a tiny bit easier to bear.

The three of them rushed to the tunnel to find Hinami and Touka.

"Hey!" Kaneki called once they were in sight. "Are you guys okay?!"

"I'm fine," Touka answered, though the blood on her white shirt said otherwise. "But…"

"Yeah, I'll get right on it," Yomo said.

He started moving towards the body of a now-deceased investigator.

Corie recognized him. While she had never fought him personally, he was said to be an extremely talented but ruthless investigator who rarely lost a fight. He also had an unhealthy obsession with quinques made from the kagune of his previous kills.

On his left hand was a wedding ring.

Corie briefly wondered what family he had left behind.

And while she felt sorry for any surviving members of that family, she also knew that Touka had to fight to survive and protect young Hinami from him. It was either him or the little girl.

She wondered if they would all ever learn to stop fighting one another.

"Wait," Yomo stated. "Somebody's headed this way. Seems we don't have time to move the body. We have to go."

He put Hinami on his back and started to walk back towards Anteiku. Kaneki began to follow after them but stopped when he noticed Touka wasn't coming.

"Touka?" he said softly. "Touka, we have to get out of here."

She made no response.

"Touka?"

With no other words, Touka exited the tunnel with the others.

The group walked along the street back towards the coffee shop.

Corie didn't know if she was trying to hear it or if the noise was just that loud, but she could hear an anguished scream come from where they had just left.

She paused in her step and sighed.

She knew the pain of losing someone one was close to, and she would not wish that pain on her worst enemy.

_I'm sorry_, she lifted up to the person who had come across the investigator. Maybe whoever it was would hear her silent apology and somehow be able to forgive them all one day.

"Do you think this is okay?" Hinami asked quietly. "Is it okay for me to live?"

There was a small pause as everyone thought of how to answer a question like that.

"Hinami," Kaneki said. "I think what Ryoko was trying to tell you that day was to live."

Hinami gave a sad smile and pressed her head into Yomo's shoulder. "Yeah…"

Kaneki looked over at Touka who pressed her hand against her injury. "You need a hand?"

"Huh?" Touka exclaimed. "Heck no!"

"Come on."

"I don't need your help!"

"Here."

Kaneki took Touka's arm and propped it over his shoulders so he could help her walk.

"I don't get you."

Beside them, Corie raised her eyebrows in amusement. "Hey, Kaneki," she said. "It's my first time seeing your mask. It looks pretty awesome. Uta really outdid himself with this one."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. You're really going to make an impression with that thing."

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry about before. If…if Yomo hadn't…"

"Even if he hadn't stepped in front of me, I could've handled it. Maybe not as calmly as he did, but I still would've been able to handle it."

"But…even still…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're okay. I'm glad you're all okay."


	6. Training the Quinx

**_Reina=27_**

**_Sasaki=22_**

Sasaki walked down the hallway at the CCG to meet with the rest of his squad and the squads he would be working with on his next mission.

However, his eyes caught someone familiar in one of the CCG practice rooms.

Not caring that he was going to be late to the meeting, he quietly peeked his head inside. He was curious.

Reina's back was to him and she appeared to not notice that someone was watching her. Unlike her usual professional attire, she wore a black tank top and workout leggings. Her black hair had been tied into a bun with her bangs pinned back.

She moved her arms and legs in fluid motion before punching and kicking the air with incredible precision and control. He didn't doubt that she could easily take on someone twice her size.

Sasaki came up behind her and touched her shoulder. "Excuse m—"

Before he could finish, Reina cried out in surprise, grasped his arm, and tossed his body over her shoulder.

When she realized exactly who it was she had just attacked, she put both hands to her mouth. "I am so sorry! Are you all right?"

Sasaki just laughed as he sat up and put his hand to his head. "Don't worry, it takes more than that to down a Quinx. I guess I shouldn't have snuck up on you."

Reina awkwardly fiddled with her hands. "Uh, Mr. Sasaki…I've been meaning to say, um, about what you did for me after what happened with Black Rose…I really do appreciate it. I know I rushed out of there, it's just that…I don't do very well in new places or surrounded by new people. Not to mention I had just been attacked by a ghoul. But…I can't thank you enough."

Sasaki smiled kindly. "The CCG's gotta look out for each other, right?"

Reina gave a small smile.

"Miss Furukawa—"

"Uh, it's okay for you to call me Reina."

"All right, Reina, do you practice often?"

"Well…obviously the investigators get first priority in the practice rooms, but if they're open, anyone can use them."

"I wouldn't think someone from the administrative department needed to learn how to fight."

"I used to travel on my own a lot so I wanted to make sure I could defend myself. Now, I just keep practicing so I don't lose it."

"I see. You've got some pretty good skills. Do you get into fights often?"

She laughed nervously. "No, not really."

Sasaki looked her over. "Fight me."

"Excuse me?"

He removed his long white trench coat and tossed it aside. "I want to see how you do fighting another person instead of the air. Come on, fight me."

"Uh…okay."

The two CCG employees got into the proper position.

Then they began to fight. Sasaki clearly didn't plan on going easy on her, so she returned the favor. Twice, she landed a hard kick to his abdomen while he managed to sweep her off her feet once.

They fought for a full twenty minutes straight before Sasaki finally called out, "All right, truce, truce!"

Reina stopped mid-punch and let her guard down, breathing heavily.

"Wow," Sasaki panted. "No one's given me that much of a fight except for Arima. You sure you haven't had actual real-life experience?"

"Just what my instructors have taught me."

He went to retrieve his coat and slipped it back over his arms. "Well, I'm quite impressed."

"Thank you."

"You must have the best instructors on the planet if they can teach you all that."

"I'm sure they'd be happy to hear that."

"…Would you be interested in helping teach my squad?"

Reina's eyes widened. "What?"

"They really need help with their one-on-one combat training, and I think you'd be a pretty good teacher for them."

"But don't you all have kagunes you can use? Why bother with one-on-one training?"

"We try to use kagunes as a last resort. The Quinx aren't that bad, but they have never been able to defeat me yet which means they're not good enough. Besides, I think it's beneficial to learn from different people. That way, they can find different fighting styles and choose one that works for them."

"I mean, if they don't have a problem with it, I'd be glad to help out."

"Great. We'll see you at the Chateau tomorrow night then."

* * *

"Guys, I'm sure you remember Miss Reina Furukawa."

The Quinx squad looked at the woman standing in front of them in the now bare living room.

"Although, there is one Quinx you haven't met yet. Reina, meet Saiko Yonebayashi."

Saiko just yawned.

"Hello," Reina said softly. "It's good to see you all again."

"Reina is going to help me train you guys in combat."

Shirazu scoffed. "You're kidding, right?"

"Of course not."

"Look, no offense, Miss Furukawa, but how do you expect to be able to train a bunch of Quinx?"

"Shirazu," Sasaki said firmly. "This was my decision because I think she'll be a great asset to your training. So if you have a problem with this, you take it up with me."

Shirazu shrank back. "Yes, sir."

"Uh, would you like to fight us all at once or one at a time, ma'am?" Mutsuki asked.

Reina gave a small smile. "All of you can feel free to call me Reina, and I'll fight each of you individually first so I can get a feel for what you already know and what I can teach you." She laughed awkwardly. "I'm human, so please don't go full strength on me. This training isn't about strength anyway. I'm going to show you techniques to use when you're fighting someone of equal or greater strength."

Urie leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "I'm interested to see how this will go. (This is pointless)."

"So…who wants to go first?" Reina asked.

Mutsuki took a hesitant step forward. "I guess I will."

"Okay."

The rest of the members stepped back to allow Reina and Mutsuki to fight freely.

Mutsuki made the first move, but Reina easily dodged it before inflicting a kick of her own. When Mutsuki attacked again, Reina turned the move on itself so that he ended up hurting himself rather than her.

The fight continued for several minutes before Mutsuki was too exhausted to continue.

"Okay, who's next?" Reina asked.

"Uh, don't you want a break?" Shirazu questioned.

"No, that was my warm-up."

The Quinx members looked at one another.

Who was this woman?

* * *

"Shirazu, you must maintain your center of balance," Reina instructed in the midst of the brawl. "If you don't—"

She came up behind him and knocked him onto the floor.

"I can do that."

Shirazu rubbed his arm. "Geez, where did you learn all this stuff?"

"Doesn't matter where I learned it. What matters is that you learn it now."

Shirazu slowly walked over to stand against the wall. This was the fourth time he had lost against her in as many days. He didn't understand how she kept winning when Quinx clearly had superior abilities over humans!

It was kind of weird how serious Reina was when she taught them. Normally, she was a really quiet and reserved woman but as soon as she began training them, she was all business. And she had certainly proven that she didn't care if she hurt them.

Urie rolled up his sleeves and walked over to her. "I suppose it's my turn now."

He and Reina quickly clashed which she knew was because Urie was especially angry at constantly losing to her. It was pretty degrading to him to lose to a human woman.

Urie came at her with everything, but Reina consistently dodged each of his attacks.

"You're too angry," she said calmly. "It makes you lose focus."

Urie growled in frustration and continued to try to attack her.

"Calm down."

With an enraged scream, the black-haired Quinx released his kagune. His arm transformed into what resembled a long purple sword.

"Wait, Urie!" Reina cried.

She was so surprised by the appearance of the weapon that she lost her balance and Urie easily kicked her onto the floor before aiming his kagune at her throat.

"Urie!" Sasaki yelled, quickly stepping in front of Reina. "Enough!"

Panting, Urie made his kagune disappear.

"You know kagune isn't allowed in Reina's training!"

Urie made no response.

Sasaki knelt down and helped Reina up off the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Urie glared at her and retreated into his room.

"Uh, I guess we'll wrap up for today," Reina said quietly.

Mutsuki, Shirazu, and Saiko awkwardly went into the kitchen to grab a snack.

"I apologize for all of that," Sasaki said to Reina.

"No, things like that help me to understand him better so I know how to train him. Sometimes I have a hard time keeping my emotions in check too."

"I find that hard to believe."

Reina laughed lightly. "It's true."

"I really appreciate everything you're doing for these guys. I think you're really helping them out."

"I hope so."

* * *

"Today, we're going to do things a little different," Reina said.

Sasaki cut out the lights all throughout the Chateau.

"We're going to practice fighting when you can no longer see your opponent."

"Wait, what?!" Shirazu exclaimed. "We could barely fight you when we _could_ see you!"

"When one of your senses is gone, heighten all of your others. Listen for every step, every twitch, every breath, anything that can tell you where your opponent is and what their next move is. Feel for everything. Feel their movement on the floor, feel the tension in the air as they decide what to do."

Reina expertly moved throughout the room and knocked down every single Quinx with ease.

"You're not listening and you're not feeling. All of you, get up and go again. Listen and feel each of my movements so you know where and when I'm going to strike."

She heard everyone resume standing.

This time, Mutsuki and Urie managed to hear when she was coming and where she was coming from and both of them were able to deflect her attacks.

Sasaki turned the lights back on and saw that Shirazu and Saiko were on the floor groaning in pain while Urie and Mutsuki were still standing albeit with a couple of fresh bruises that would heal in a day or so.

He laughed a little against his will. He had never thought about using this technique, but he certainly wished he had thought of it first.

That evening as Reina was about to leave, Sasaki handed her a small card.

"What's this?" she asked.

"We're having a little Christmas gathering in a few weeks to celebrate the holiday. We'd love it if you could come."

"Oh…thank you. I'll…I'll see if I can make it. Thank you for inviting me."

"It's the least I can do as a thanks for all your help."

* * *

Sasaki groaned.

He had never fought a ghoul so ruthless and tough before. It didn't help that he had been ambushed while he was alone and didn't have his squad for backup. He was on his last leg.

He hated to admit it, but he could really use Lightning's help right about now.

Just as he finished thinking that, the very ghoul in question landed in front of him.

The white-haired ghoul started giggling manically. "I've heard about you!" he laughed. "The one who defends the very people who desire nothing more than to exterminate us! I was told if you showed up, I shouldn't hesitate to kill you!"

Beneath the mask, Lightning furrowed her eyebrows. _Who_ told him he should kill her? Where had he heard about her?

She could not voice any of these questions.

The ghoul and Lightning began to fight.

Sasaki fell to the ground, his vision starting to blur. Everything hurt. It hurt so, so much. It would just be easier to sleep.

Yes, sleep sounded very nice.

Lightning glanced back at Sasaki and saw he had fallen unconscious, blood covering his entire form made even more prominent against his white trenchcoat.

She decided to abandon the fight with the other ghoul and ran towards the fallen investigator.

Careful not to hurt him further, she hoisted him up over her shoulder and dashed away before the other ghoul could follow her.

That face…she recognized that ghoul but she didn't know from where. She would remember running into someone as psychotic as him before, so why did he seem so familiar?

Lightning ran to the CCG headquarters, fully aware it was probably suicide to do so. She was thankful that she at least had the darkness of the night to cloak her.

She gently set Sasaki down on the ground at the front of the building.

The investigator cracked his eyes open. He saw a blurry lightning mask looking down at him and he wondered if this was it. Had Lightning saved him all those times just so she could eat him herself?

It took a couple moments for him to realize that she was stroking his head.

Suddenly, the mask disappeared. He was looking at someone with dark blonde hair crying out for him to stay with her and that an ambulance was coming.

Why couldn't he see that person's face?

The image faded and he once again saw the lightning-covered mask.

She still hadn't eaten him. Was she trying to comfort him?

"Hey, get away from him!"

Lightning looked up and ran off before the other investigators could catch her.

"Oh, man, it's Haise Sasaki!"

Sasaki's world started to blur once again and he couldn't tell who it was that had found him.

"Can you believe a ghoul actually tried to eat an investigator right in front of CCG headquarters?" one asked.

"I can't believe they're that stupid!"

_You're wrong_, Sasaki wanted to say. _She saved my life_.

But he couldn't get his mouth to move. His world turned black and he promptly passed out.

* * *

Reina let out a deep breath.

Then she knocked on the door.

Sasaki answered it with a bright smile. "Reina, I'm glad you could make it!"

Reina gave him a small smile. "Merry Christmas, Sasaki."

"Merry Christmas! Come on inside!"

Reina followed him inside the Chateau. Her stomach flipped when she saw several other people in addition to the Quinx members.

"I…I didn't realize other investigators were going to be here."

"That won't be a problem, will it?" Sasaki asked. His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry! You mentioned that being around a lot of new people makes you nervous, didn't you? If you want to leave, I won't be offended!"

"No, it's…it's okay. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"All right. I'll introduce you." He stepped over to the living area where one of the investigators was in a furious video game battle with Saiko. "Everyone, this is Miss Reina Furukawa. She works in the administrative department at the CCG, and for the last few weeks, she's helped me train my squad in defensive maneuvers."

"Hello, everyone," Reina said quietly with a small bow.

"Reina, this is Hanbee Abara and his squad leader, Juuzou Suzuya."

"Nice to meetcha!" Suzuya smiled.

"Over there on the couch getting his butt kicked by Saiko is Ito Kuramoto. And the one helping set the table is Takeomi Kuroiwa. They're both part of the Hirako Squad."

"I see," Reina said. "It's good to meet all of you."

"Likewise!" Kuramoto yelled back without taking his eyes off the TV screen.

"Would you mind helping out with dinner?" Sasaki asked.

"Sure, no problem," Reina answered.

The two of them went over to the kitchen and started to finish what Sasaki had already been making.

This had been one of the questions Reina had for the longest time.

…What did Sasaki eat?

She knew his stomach was not equipped for normal food. If he couldn't eat like everyone else, how was he getting his proper nutrients? And how could he cook if the smell made him feel sick?

Right now, as she stared into the pot, she fought the very strong urge to puke.

"Smells good!" she smiled.

"Thanks! Can you cut up the lettuce for me?"

"Okay."

At least lettuce didn't really have a smell.

"So meeting them wasn't too bad, right?"

"No, not really. It just takes me a little time, that's all."

"I understand. I won't push you too hard, I promise."

"I appreciate that."

"Hey, Haise!" Suzuya called from the couch. "Who else is coming?"

The door creaked open. "It's awfully lively in here."

Reina looked towards the door.

Her heart nearly came out of her throat.

There stood Kishou Arima and Akira Mado.

She turned back around and clenched her jaw so tightly, she feared that if she didn't get a grip, she was going to break all of her teeth.

If she had known Arima and Mado were going to be here, she never would've come. How was she possibly supposed to act normal around them? How was she going to sit at the same table with them? Other investigators like Kuramoto or Kuroiwa were one thing, but _these_ investigators…

Sasaki looked over at Reina. "Hey, it's okay. You'll like Arima and Akira. I know it's a lot of people to meet at once, but they're all really nice and they'll respect your boundaries."

She couldn't tell him that her supposed feelings of discomfort around new people had absolutely nothing to do with the reason why she looked about to explode.

Instead, she plastered a smile onto her face and looked over at him. "I can't believe the famous Arima is right there!"

"Come on, let me introduce you."

Reina resisted the intense desire to rip Arima's head from his body. She would probably lose that fight anyway.

"Welcome, you two!" Sasaki smiled. "Allow me to introduce you to Miss Reina Furukawa. She works in the administrative department. Reina, this is Kishou Arima and my squad leader, Akira Mado."

"It's wonderful to meet you both," Reina smiled as she bowed deeply. "I've heard so many good things about you."

Arima politely smiled. "I know the administrative department doesn't get much credit, but we really appreciate all the work you put into keeping the CCG alive. Without you guys, we never would get those ghouls off the streets."

Reina feigned embarrassment. "Oh, you're too kind, sir! I don't deserve your praise."

"That wasn't Arima's praise," Akira laughed. "Believe me, this guy doesn't praise anyone. But he's right, the CCG is grateful for all you do."

"Thank you."

Sasaki clapped his hands together. "All right, if you'll just give me two more minutes, dinner will be ready!"

"I'm looking forward to it," Akira smiled.

Everyone took a seat at the table and waited for Sasaki to serve the food.

Reina sat on the end, thanks to Sasaki's intervention, so she wouldn't feel too cramped amongst the people she had just met.

Once everyone began eating, Reina noticed that Sasaki never made a plate for himself but nobody questioned it. It _had_ been two years since he became an investigator, so maybe everyone knew by now that he didn't eat meals. But that still begged the question of what he did eat and when.

She supposed now wasn't the time to bring it up.

Reina looked down at her plate. She took a deep breath and brought the food to her lips before quickly swallowing. "Wow, this is really good, Sasaki," she smiled, pretending she still had food in her mouth. "I had no idea you were such a good cook."

Sasaki laughed, remembering quite the opposite reaction when he had tried to feed her soup before. "Thanks, Reina. I'm glad you like it."

Urie looked at the woman from across the table. Something had been bugging him about her ever since they'd first met, but he couldn't really place what it was.

Dinner continued, and Arima shared some stories about previous fights with ghouls, such as fighting one with only an umbrella since he hadn't had his quinque on him at the time, a ghoul passing out at the sight of him, and falling asleep right in the middle of a fight.

Reina remained entirely quiet unless someone asked her a direct question, but even then, her response was only a few words.

"Reina, you haven't eaten very much," Mutsuki pointed out towards the end.

"Yeah, I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach," she laughed lightly. "Excuse me for a moment. I'm just going to use the restroom."

She quickly rushed to the bathroom, feeling more nauseous by the second. After shutting the door, she made sure to lock it.

Reina clutched her stomach and stared at herself in the mirror, sweat dripping down her forehead.

She had been through a lot before, but this night might just take the cake. Sitting at the same table with the infamous Arima and listening to him talk endlessly about slaughtering people like her?

She wondered if he had caught onto her at all. She couldn't believe that someone like Arima who could make ghouls pass out just by looking at him didn't suspect a thing. But she was certainly giving the most convincing performance of her entire life tonight. Maybe she had managed to fool even him.

Reina fell to the floor with a quiet groan.

Then she crawled over to the toilet and vomited up everything she had just forced herself to eat.

She hated this. She hated everything about this entire situation.

Once she had finished emptying the contents of her stomach, she splashed some cold water onto her face. Hopefully, no one would notice she looked a slight shade paler.

When she exited the bathroom, she nearly bumped directly into Urie.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "Were you waiting long?"

"No," Urie said simply before stepping inside the bathroom.

Reina prayed he hadn't heard her a few minutes ago.

"Reina, can I get you anything else?" Sasaki asked when she stepped back inside the living room.

"Um…I would really love a cup of coffee if that's not too much trouble."

"Coming right up!"

Coffee would certainly help her stomach settle and hopefully restore some of the color to her face.

"Here you are!"

Reina smiled as he handed her a small yellow mug. She slowly sipped the brown liquid inside. It tasted so…nostalgic.

"Did I make it okay?"

She fought back the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes. "Yeah, it's perfect."

"Great. Oh, before I forget, I got you something." He opened a drawer and pulled out a small object. "Merry Christmas, Reina."

"Oh…I feel terrible. I didn't get you anything."

"It's all right! You've done more than enough by training my squad!"

Reina took the object and examined it in her palm. It was a small hair clip with jeweled cherry blossoms on it. "Wow, it's beautiful."

"I noticed that you tend to pin your bangs back when you train, so I thought you could use that."

"Thank you so much, Sasaki. I love it." She pushed her bangs to the side and put the pin in her hair. "I think it suits me."

"It does. Very well."

Urie returned to the living room and looked at what Reina was drinking.

His eyes narrowed even further.

Something was off about Reina, and he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

She claimed that she had never fought or trained anyone, but no one got as good as she did without lots of hands-on experience, and her way of training them all was so fluid that it was pretty clear it wasn't her first time teaching someone her skills.

And tonight, right after eating what little she had, she immediately went and threw it all up. He had been able to hear the disgusting noises from outside the bathroom. Unfortunately, she hadn't left behind any evidence that might incriminate her of…well, anything.

Now, she was happily drinking coffee after everything else had made her sick.

It was quite possible that…Reina Furukawa was a ghoul.

To his dismay, he couldn't make an accusation like that without something to back him up, especially since he wasn't entirely sure. For one thing, if she was a ghoul, how had she managed to get through the RC gates all this time? And why hadn't her wounds healed when Sasaki treated her several weeks ago?

Some things may not add up, but if he could find some solid proof, outing her to the rest of the CCG would make him look remarkable. He might even get promoted for it, but even if he didn't, it sure would help put him on that path. Not to mention that it would make Kuroiwa and the rest of the foolish people here look like complete idiots.

She may be his instructor, but his purpose was to eradicate every ghoul on this earth, instructor or not.

Reina Furukawa was going to be caught, and he was going to make sure that it was him who caught her.


	7. Training Kaneki

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

Corie slowly descended beneath the world of Tokyo to the underground tunnels where she found Kaneki practicing in their secret training space.

She crossed her arms as she smiled a little. Kaneki didn't really seem like the fighting type, so it was rather…interesting to see him attempt to learn how to defend himself.

"Has Touka been training you?"

Kaneki nearly jumped a foot in the air as he quickly turned around. "Oh, Corie. Uh, yeah she has." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm still pretty bad though."

"Well, yeah, everyone's bad at something when first starting. You think I always knew how to make an amazing cappuccino?"

Kaneki chose not to acknowledge that he was still pretty terrible at that too. "Did you help train Touka?"

"No, Yomo mainly trained her. He may seem pretty calm and collected, but trust me, that guy will not go easy on you."

"So who trained you?"

"I have a lot of different instructors. I attended university in America and after I graduated, I traveled the world and learned from different people."

"Oh, so that's what people mean when everyone keeps saying you're back."

Corie smiled. "Yeah, I come back to Tokyo every now and again, but I live somewhere else more often than not."

"Where have you been besides America?"

"So far, I've lived in Italy, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Korea."

"Whoa. So you must be fluent in at least one other language then right?"

"Yep! I can speak fluent English and I'm sort of conversational in the languages spoken in each country I stayed in. I generally stay in one place for about four or five months before heading to my next destination."

"How…how do you make it work, you know, since…you're a ghoul?"

"It can get difficult sometimes especially since I'm on my own, but ghouls aren't _just_ in Tokyo. They're all over the place. You just have to know how to find them. Luckily, nobody's come up with anything to stop ghouls from getting on a plane, though knowing the CCG, they're probably not too far from doing that."

"What made you want to go to so many other countries?"

"I went to America because I needed to get away from home for a while since I was dealing with some pretty heavy stuff at the time. After I graduated, I wanted to get more experience and learn about different cultures and what ghouls do to survive in other places. I made connections pretty quickly and people I met would help me get a temporary job so I could provide for myself. The ghouls I met taught me different fighting techniques that you won't find in Japan. I would train with them for hours nearly every day until I left the country."

Kaneki briefly wondered if her parents' death had anything to do with her leaving. "Wow. So, what kind of stuff did you learn?"

"I don't fight like most other ghouls you'll meet. I'm what's called a precision fighter. That means I don't go into a fight swinging my kagune around and hope I hit something." She then shrugged her shoulders. "Well, most of the time. I focus my energy, see what I want to hit, and then I hit it. I'm really fast too. If I'm really in the zone, I can land a strike before my opponent even realizes I'm there."

"I'm not sure I fully understand."

Corie looked around the tunnel for something she could use as a demonstration. "See that soda can over there?"

Kaneki looked towards the wall and saw a crushed can about twenty feet away from them.

"Watch this."

Two purple and black tentacles slowly protruded from her back. Then her shoulder twitched ever so slightly, and in a blur of motion, one of the tentacles burst forth straight towards the can with four popping sounds. Another tentacle wrapped around the can and picked it up before coming back and dropping it into Corie's hand.

She smiled as she showed Kaneki the soda can.

Four perfectly spaced holes had been punctured into it.

"That's incredible!" he exclaimed.

"This way, I can injure my opponent as much or as little as I want and hit just the right place for me to disarm them without killing them. The catch is that I have to keep a _really_ clear head to be able to do this properly. So if I'm angry or upset or scared, I lose my ability to do it at all."

"I can understand how that might be difficult." He nervously wrung his hands together. "Corie, I know I've only just started learning how to fight and I don't want to rely on my kagune. But…if that kind of ability will allow me to use it and not kill someone, do you think you could…teach me how to do it?"

Corie looked at him in surprise. "This isn't an easy thing to learn. It tests you…in every way you can be tested. It took me months of practice every single day to get right. I mean, the amount of concentration you need to maintain alone is enough to break someone. But if you think you can handle it…sure, I'll teach you."

Kaneki smiled. "Thanks. I…really appreciate it."

"No problem. Meet me here this weekend, and we'll begin. Be ready to work extra hard."

* * *

"All right, here's the deal," Corie explained. "Touka and I disagree on a lot of things. Unfortunately for you, this isn't one of them. In fact, when we're done, you're going to wish it was Touka training you."

Kaneki found that pretty hard to believe considering that Touka didn't care if she killed him or not, and Corie had been nothing but kind to him since they'd met. How hard could her training possibly be?

"In my training, I do have a rule that I never go hard enough to kill the person I'm teaching. That being said, I won't hesitate to put you in a ton of pain. You might end up in so much pain that you'll wish you were dead because at least then the pain would stop."

Kaneki could feel sweat start to form on his brow. "Uh, you're not really selling this very well."

"I just need you to understand what's about to happen. See, the saying 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' is especially true for ghouls. The more we're injured, the stronger our cells and our kagune become. All of us have had years upon years of experience to toughen up our bodies. You, on the other hand, have only had a few months. And if you want to be able to use the technique I'm about to teach you, it requires you to toughen up as much as the rest of us have.

"Now, we're going to have to start off with endurance training before actually delving into how to do the technique, so show me your kagune."

Kaneki paused, and Corie could sense his hesitance.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just…I'm still not very good at using it. I mean…you saw what happened the last time I pulled it out. I can't control it and I…lose myself to it."

Corie took a couple steps forward. "If you want to gain control, the only way to do that is to practice." Seeing that he wasn't convinced, she added, "I'll tell you what. If you ever lose yourself to your kagune, I promise that I will always get you back. Okay?"

Kaneki took a deep breath. When he used his kagune in the fight with that investigator, he had no idea what he was doing and he feared that he was going to kill him. With the ability to use Corie's technique, he could defend and protect the people he cared about without killing anyone.

The only solution was to do what she said: practice.

With a lot of effort, he managed to release three red and black tentacles.

And suddenly, a set of purple and black tentacles knocked him off his feet and sent him careening into the opposite wall. He looked up and saw Corie calmly standing before him with her kagune released and her kakugan gleaming.

"Wait, I wasn't ready!" he exclaimed.

"Do you think the person you're fighting is going to wait until you're ready?" Corie demanded. "No! They're going to wait until you're the opposite of ready! You need to be ready even when you're not ready. Now get up and go again."

Kaneki weakly stood up. This was a side of Corie he had never seen before, and he wasn't really sure he liked it.

Her kagune came around and once again knocked him off his feet.

"Get up. Again."

They followed the same pattern for what felt like hours.

_Slam_. _Crack_.

"Again."

_Slam_. _Crack_.

"Again."

_Slam. Crack. _

"Again."

Over and over, that same stupid word came from her mouth.

Finally, after a thousand falls, Kaneki somehow was able to stop her kagune with his own.

Corie smiled. "Good. Remember how you did that. Remember how your feet moved and where your hands went and how each muscle felt when you twisted your kagune around. Even when you fall, remember everything. Now go again."

The fight was not nearly evenly matched, but Kaneki did manage to continue blocking her kagune from repeatedly beating him to a pulp.

"Corie," he panted once they hit hour two of training. "I…I need a break."

"Is your opponent going to give you a break? They're going to wait until you're at your weakest so that they can hit at their strongest. When you're weak and tired and you feel like you have no energy left, you dig deep inside yourself and you find more. Now get up! Go again!"

Kaneki forced himself up off the ground, every muscle screaming in agony. She had been right. Touka at least knew when to quit. When she had broken his finger on the first day, it was only his hand that hurt and that had healed by the next morning. He wasn't sure these injuries were ever going to heal, half-ghoul or not.

Corie came at him with everything she had for another full hour before she finally let up. "All right, we'll stop for today."

Kaneki let his kagune dissolve and then fell to the ground, never so happy to hear those words. Everything hurt more than it had ever hurt before which was saying something considering all that had happened to him since his date with Rize.

Corie gave him a pitiful smile and extended her hand. With great effort, Kaneki took it and stood up.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I know I'm being really hard on you. I told you that this wasn't going to be easy. And we haven't even started learning the actual technique yet."

Kaneki was struck by how much her personality changed now that she wasn't training him anymore. She became like an entirely different person once she started teaching him how to fight. It was almost scary.

"You need to be mentally ready in addition to physically, so I have to make sure you have enough endurance before I begin teaching you the hard part, and I need to know that your kagune can hold out even when the rest of you is tired."

Kaneki couldn't even answer her due to the sheer amount of pain he felt literally everywhere. He needed to sleep for a month. Or maybe a year.

"Rest up and we'll continue again next week."

The idea of going through all of this again was almost more than he could bear. This had been some of the worst three hours of his life.

"Let me give you a piece of advice. Sometimes, the best thing you can do in a fight is just tire your opponent out. If you let them do all of the offensive maneuvers and you manage to evade them all, you can go in for the attack once they're weakened."

The boy gave a small nod as he continued catching his breath. He wished he could just fast forward to the part where he was as good as her, but he knew that was just unrealistic. At the rate he was going, it was going to be a long time before he was anywhere close to her skill level.

* * *

"Thanks for coming with me to pick up my new mask."

"It's no trouble," Kaneki said with a shy smile.

"I've needed a new one for the longest time, but even after living in so many places, I've yet to meet anyone who can make a mask as well as Uta can."

"I didn't realize he was so good."

"Is he a little less scary now?"

"Uh…his appearance is still really intimidating, but he is pretty nice."

Corie noticed Kaneki walking rather slowly. "Are you still sore?"

Kaneki's face reddened a touch. "Yeah, a little."

"The first day's usually the hardest. It will get easier though. I've been on the receiving end of things, so I know how you feel."

"Are we doing the same thing again in a couple days?"

When Corie didn't say anything, Kaneki looked over at her to find her gazing longingly at a male walking down the sidewalk across the street.

At first, he thought maybe he was someone she knew, but then he got a better look at her face. She licked her lips hungrily and gazed at the man's bare arms.

_Nice muscle_, she thought to herself. _I bet that would taste good…_

"Corie."

_I can smell him from over here. He smells really, really nice._

"Corie."

_I can almost taste him now._

"Corie!"

Corie jumped and turned to look at Kaneki.

"Are you okay?"

Corie smiled a little. "I'm just a little hungry," she said quietly.

Something about her behavior made Kaneki feel a little uneasy. "When did you eat last?"

"…I'm not really sure."

"If you can't remember, then it's probably been too long. Let's hurry back to Anteiku and then you can get something to eat."

As Kaneki walked forward, Corie let her gaze wander over his thin body. "That sounds good."

When they finally made it back to the coffee shop, the place was still closed.

"Hello?" Kaneki called after Corie stepped inside. "Mr. Yoshimura?"

No answer.

"Where is everyone?"

"I don't know," Corie answered. She started up the steps to the second floor. "I'm sure they'll be back soon though."

"You need to eat something. Is it downstairs in the fridge or do you…do something else…uh, to eat?"

Corie cracked her neck.

"Um…Corie? Are you all right?"

"I'll be great in a few minutes."

She spun around, and Kaneki's eyes widened when he realized that her kakugan had activated. He tried to run, but it was almost embarrassingly easy for Corie to stop him after only a few steps and pin him to the ground. She laughed insanely as she gripped both of his wrists and kept them down while straddling his waist.

"Corie, please!" Kaneki whimpered. "Stop! I'm your…your friend…aren't I?"

Corie continued giggling. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this!"

She removed her hands from his wrists and ripped open his shirt to expose his scrawny chest. Kaneki tried to push her off, but as soon as she had successfully revealed his pale skin, she resumed pinning his wrists down.

Then she deeply inhaled his scent from his stomach up to his neck.

"Ah," she breathed as she closed her eyes and basked in the beautiful scent. "You still smell just as amazing as that first night."

Kaneki looked up at her crazed kakugan in horror. Suddenly, he was back to that horrible night. That night where Rize took a giant chomp out of his shoulder and revealed her true nature to him. That night where he thought for sure that he was going to die. That night filled with pain and blood and pain and blood and _pain, so much pain_!

"Corie, stop…"

"Sorry, Kaneki," Corie giggled. "But we all have to do things we don't like to survive. Don't worry. I promise I'll make it quick. You'll barely feel anything."

She opened her mouth wide and Kaneki shut his eyes, waiting for it all to be over.

Just as Corie was about to sink her teeth into his shoulder, someone knocked her off the boy with enough force to send her into the wall.

Kaneki quickly backed away from her with loud whimpers of fear.

Yoshimura knelt down next to him. "Are you all right, Kaneki?"

"I…I think so!"

Corie looked up at who had stopped her from devouring her precious meal. "You," she growled viciously at Yomo. "You shouldn't have interfered! His flesh is mine! _MINE_!"

Yomo stared at Corie calmly. "You waited too long again."

Corie growled at him and lunged at Kaneki. "I want him! I want his flesh!"

Both Yomo and Yoshimura caught her arms and stopped her from attacking the boy while Kaneki nervously backed away even further.

Corie let out inhuman screams as the two men easily kept her pinned down despite her frantic kicking.

Kaneki was stunned that they both could act so calm despite such an intense situation. Did they deal with this kind of thing often?

They waited for about a minute until she stopped thrashing about and let out quiet pained sobs.

"Here, my dear, eat this," Yoshimura said gently.

With the one hand that wasn't holding Corie down, he fed his niece a small piece of flesh he had retrieved from the refrigerator below. Once the flesh came in contact with Corie's mouth, she instantly began to return to her normal self.

"Good, that's it. It's all right."

Yoshimura affectionately ran his hand through Corie's long hair while she took deep breaths and came back to reality.

And reality wasn't a pretty thing.

Kaneki watched her kakugan disappear and her normal blue eye color return. Her features softened and he could tell the moment her actions hit her. She looked up at Kaneki in horror and embarrassment.

Then without a single word, she quickly stood up and fled from the coffee shop.

"Wait, Corie!" he called.

Yoshimura put a hand to his shoulder. "Give her some space for now."

"What…what just happened?"

The older man sighed. "You know as well as anyone what it's like for a ghoul to be so hungry that they can't even function and will eat anything just to be rid of that hunger."

Kaneki looked down, painfully reminded of nearly eating Hide due to his own insatiable hunger.

"Corie…is the kind of person who hates eating humans almost as much as you do. She'll wait as long as she possibly can in between meals. But sometimes, moments like what you just witnessed happen where she waits too long and loses control over herself. She must've been in pain for days now."

"I…I had no idea."

The boy felt ashamed that like the rest of the world, he had previously believed ghouls just killed each other without thinking about it. He never even considered that they hated their diet as well. And he never considered that ghouls would choose to starve themselves so as not to kill a human more often than necessary.

Just like during his battle with the investigator by the tunnel, he knew that he was the only one who could see all of this and the only one who had the power to unite humans and ghouls.

Kaneki also came to the startling realization that Corie had fought him powerfully for three straight hours just a few days ago while battling that level of hunger.

He wasn't sure he wanted to know what she was like after just eating…

* * *

Kaneki knocked on the door to one of the rooms above the coffee shop once his shift ended.

It had been four days since the incident. He and Corie were supposed to train two days ago, but she hadn't shown up.

In fact, he hadn't seen her at all since then. He thought that since he worked at the same place she lived, they would see each other at least once, but he was wrong. It turned out she was really, really good at avoiding him when she wanted to.

Kaneki slowly opened the door.

Corie sat on the windowsill, hugging one of her knees to her chest. She looked over at him, and he could see the pain and embarrassment still on her red face.

She slowly stood up and took a couple steps forward. He very clearly saw that she kept a safe amount of space between them.

"Um…I don't really know what I can say," she started hesitantly. "I'm…I'm really sorry for what happened. It's…it's the first time that's happened in six years, so it's not a common thing, I swear."

"Corie, I…I'm not mad."

"…Why not?"

Kaneki sighed. "Mr. Yoshimura told me why you acted the way you did. I didn't realize that you were starving yourself so often. If I had known that you were so hungry, I wouldn't have had you train me last week."

Corie looked at him for a moment, trying to find her next words. "I never liked having to eat humans, but unfortunately, it's the only thing I can eat. So the best I can do is eat as little as possible. That's not to say I haven't killed or that I get my food the way Ryoko and Hinami did. But…I do eat very sparingly. Sometimes…I'm just not careful enough."

"Look, speaking as someone who refused to eat anything at all, I completely understand that feeling of wanting to eat whatever's in front of you."

Corie slightly shook her head. "It's not just that. Kaneki, I…I could see your face. I know what you were thinking of when I attacked you."

"'Please, don't kill me'?"

The woman gave a small smile. "No. I know that…I reminded you of Rize and everything that happened that night. And I'm so sorry."

"But you're not Rize."

"I might as well have been."

"No, you're wrong. Rize…was only with me because she wanted to eat me. You only wanted to eat me because you were with me. When everything first happened and I was scared and really freaked out…you were the first one to reach out a hand and try to help me. All you've ever done is try to help me. I know what kind of person you are, Corie. That's why it's so easy to forgive you."

Corie could find no proper way to respond to all of that. She had been so ashamed of herself and embarrassed and guilty and horrified and pretty much every other awful emotion that was possible for her to feel. But Kaneki thought nothing of it and readily accepted her apology without a second thought.

"I'm going to hug you now."

She closed the awkward distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Kaneki blushed in embarrassment. Corie had never been so affectionate with him before. He tried to remember the last time he had experienced a real hug like this.

He couldn't.

His arms hesitantly wrapped around her waist to return the hug.

Her embrace was very…safe.


	8. The Gourmet

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

"It is believed to be the work of the ghoul known as the Gourmet," an announcer finished on the TV news station in the café.

Corie grimaced. The report had been about a poor girl who'd had her eyes gouged out and eaten. She had later been discovered crawling around on the ground screaming in agony.

"He's been rather active ever since Rize died," Touka remarked.

"Yeah," Irimi replied.

The bell over the door jingled.

Touka looked toward the entrance. "Oh, welcome to…"

The purple-haired man who had entered inhaled deeply and chuckled. "Smells good." He leaned an elbow against the door. "This place is always relaxing."

Corie quietly groaned.

"Welcome," Kaneki said brightly, not knowing just who he was addressing.

"It's been a while!" the man greeted. "Miss Kirishima, Miss Irimi." His eyes widened when he saw who was sitting at the counter and he smiled again. "Miss Masataka, _ma chérie_! I had no idea you had returned!"

"Been here for a few months now, Tsukiyama."

"And you did not think to seek me out?"

She gave him a dry smile. "Why would I want to do that?"

"_Quel malheur_! You wound me, dear!"

"You'll get over it."

"What do you want?" Touka asked icily.

Tsukiyama turned to the girl. "Oh, come on, I just came by to say hello. You are unfriendly as always, Miss Kirishima. Although, that's also what makes you charming."

"You're a freak."

Tsukiyama looked over at Kaneki and took note of the unusual eyepatch. "The boy with the eyepatch, is it you? The tough guy who took down an investigator?"

"Oh, hi," Kaneki said awkwardly. "My name's Kaneki."

Tsukiyama quickly began circling and examining him with his usual vigor. "Kaneki, huh? You're more frail than I imagined."

"Um…"

He sniffed the boy's neck similar to how Uta had done when they had first met. "A strange scent."

"Hey!" Touka exclaimed. "We're working and you're a freak so get out of here!"

Tsukiyama sighed. "It's always such a pleasure with you." He lightly patted Kaneki on the shoulder. "I'll stop by again soon for some coffee. When Mr. Yoshimura is here. Well then, Kaneki, I'll see you later."

The flamboyant young man exited the coffee shop.

"Who was that?" Kaneki asked, flustered.

"The 20th ward's nuisance," Touka explained. "You don't want to get involved with that guy."

* * *

Corie came down the steps just as Kaneki finished up his shift. "Hey!" she smiled. "I was just getting ready to go for a run. You wanna come?" She awkwardly looked down at her hands. "I, uh…I've eaten, so…"

Kaneki gave a shy smile. "Are you sure? I don't want to slow you down."

The young woman laughed. "You won't slow me down."

"Just give a couple minutes to change."

"Sure!"

Kaneki went into the bathroom and changed into his sweatpants and hoodie. Then he came back out where Corie was waiting.

They exited the coffee shop and walked for about five minutes as a warm-up before settling into a comfortably paced jog.

"So tell me what's been going on with you lately," Corie said. "How have you been adjusting?"

"It's better," Kaneki answered. "I guess…I just miss being able to eat regular food."

"I'm sure that's tough. I can't even imagine having to drastically switch your diet like you have. It's one thing to have never eaten normal food, but it's another thing to have eaten it and not be able to anymore."

"Uh…does Touka…always force herself to eat regular food?"

Corie sighed. "She did it again, huh?"

"Yeah, her friend, Yoriko, brought over some food because she thought Touka was sick. And Touka ate it because she felt bad that Yoriko spent so much time on it."

"Yeah. Touka may seem callous, but she's got a pretty big heart when it comes down to it. She cares about Yoriko probably as much as you care about Hide."

"I saw Nishiki earlier. A bunch of other ghouls were beating him up."

Corie looked at him like he was crazy. "And he was letting them get away with that?"

"Well…uh, he hasn't exactly healed since…"

"Since you beat the crap out of him?"

"…Yeah."

"Wounds from kagune do take longer to heal and since you really let him have it, it's understandable he's still heavily injured."

"I didn't mean to go so hard on him."

"He deserved it. He nearly killed you and your best friend. That's something you have to learn early on about this world. Ghouls and investigators don't hesitate to kill each other and sometimes, you'll have to kill and injure in order to survive. When it comes down to it, it's you or them."

Kaneki sighed. That was going to be a pretty tough philosophy to get used to. "Yomo took me to meet Itori," he told her.

"Oh, boy, that girl is a heap of trouble, but she's like Uta. She'll have your back at the end of the day. Did she tell you anything interesting?"

"She mentioned that someone was seen on the night Rize died and that the steel beams falling weren't an accident."

"Really? I mean, that wouldn't surprise me honestly. A lot of people hated that woman and you of all people know that all ghouls aren't exactly generous towards their own kind especially when their feeding ground is disrupted. Well, if you find out anything else, let me know."

"I will. Hey, Corie?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, I don't think…I ever thanked you for that night. For trying to save me."

"Don't thank me. I didn't even do anything."

"You tried. That means a lot. All I remember thinking was that I couldn't understand why a ghoul would want to save me. I thought you wanted to eat me."

"Okay, I will admit that it crossed my mind when I caught your scent as I was trying to keep you alive, but the entire time I fought Rize, the only thing I was thinking about was making sure you survived."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah."

"What exactly…do I smell like? Because everyone seems to really like it. First Uta, then you, and now Tsukiyama."

Corie laughed awkwardly. "It's kind of hard to put into words especially since you've only been on our diet for a few months and I don't know what human food tastes like. Um…okay, what would you say your most favorite thing to eat is? Something that makes your mouth water just thinking about it?"

Kaneki smiled fondly. "Probably my mom's homemade cooking. Anything she made was delicious."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I remember the first time I smelled human flesh, that was what it reminded me of."

"Okay. Well, triple that and that's about what it's like."

"Oh. I guess that kind of makes sense."

"I think it has a lot to do with the fact that you're half-human half-ghoul. No one has ever smelled that scent before which makes it a little more tantalizing." She slowed to a stop and Kaneki followed suit. "Have you talked with Tsukiyama at all?"

"Yeah, he came to see me at my university. Turns out he likes books as much as I do."

"Kaneki, I know he may come across as kind and trustworthy, but you _have_ to keep your guard up around him. Especially you since he's commented on your scent."

"I'll make sure to be careful."

* * *

Kaneki bolted awake on the couch and took heaving breaths.

"Hey, hey," Corie said quickly as she came to his side. "You're safe."

It took a moment for him to gain his bearings. He breathed a sigh of relief when he remembered that he had slept at Anteiku the previous night.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Kaneki sighed. "I'm okay."

He rubbed his hand through his hair. Every time he closed his eyes, he could hear the laughter of all of the ghouls at the restaurant and see the Scrapper approaching him with his sharp blades prepared to maul him.

Yoshimura and Yomo came into the room upon hearing voices.

"Kaneki, did you spend the night here?" Yoshimura asked.

Kaneki rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, sorry. I should've asked you first. I just couldn't sleep at my place."

"Good to have you back," Yomo said. "But you didn't have to go. Don't take everything Itori says at face value."

"I do hear things about that restaurant," Yoshimura stated. "Neither I nor Yomo know much about it. Only those who have fallen to the deep, dark side of ghouls know. It was a tall order, what Itori asked of you. Although I'm also surprised by your initiative."

"I'm sorry," Kaneki apologized. "I should've stopped them."

"How'd you make it back on your own?" Yomo asked. "Are you all right?"

Kaneki's eyes darkened. "I saw a lot of ghouls. All of them watched me and the other guests be mutilated and bleed. They were laughing behind their masks."

Yoshimura sighed. "Generally speaking, ghouls have a tendency to value life flippantly. When you look at a piece of cooked meat or fish, do you pity them?"

"Not really."

"As long as you don't see them alive, it's difficult to understand the guilt of consuming them. However, many ghouls lay their hands on people, and each time they do, they must come to terms with taking a life. Ghouls weren't designed to have hearts strong enough to be able to walk on corpses without any guilt. That's why stifling one's emotions is a way of coping. Ghouls who have lived that way have a disregard for the value of life. Kaneki, the ghouls you've known, have they all been like that?"

Instinctively, Kaneki's eyes traveled over to Corie.

Yoshimura and Yomo quietly left the room, but Corie stayed behind and slowly sat on the table by the couch.

After a couple minutes of silence, Kaneki finally said, "You warned me about him. And I wasn't careful enough."

Corie sighed deeply. "We've all been fooled by Tsukiyama at least once. He has a way of wording things to make you think you can trust him, but that guy only cares about one thing: himself."

"Yeah…"

"I, uh, I stay here every night while I'm in Tokyo, so…if you ever don't want to be alone at your place…you're more than welcome to stay here with me any time."

"Thank you."

"You might want to give me a little more warning next time though because I nearly killed you last night thinking you were an intruder."

Kaneki laughed lightly. "Sorry."

"I'm really glad you're okay." She stood up from the table and started towards the door. "You know, it's too bad that Tsukiyama is a total psycho because objectively, he is pretty hot."

Despite everything that had happened, Kaneki couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

_I can't believe this is happening_, Kaneki thought.

First, he nearly got eaten by a horde of ghouls at the infamous Gourmet restaurant, and now Tsukiyama wanted to eat him while he ate the kidnapped Kimi.

Couldn't he ever catch a break?

Why were so many ghouls insane?

And more importantly, how was he going to get everyone out of this alive?

"What sort of attack would you like next?" Tsukiyama teased, having shown the boy what a real punch and kick felt like. "I need to loosen up."

Out of nowhere, Touka jumped down from the balcony above and sliced Tsukiyama across the face.

"How's that?" she said lowly. "An ordinary sucker punch."

"Touka, it's you!" Kaneki exclaimed.

Corie descended from the balcony as well and landed next to Kaneki. "Are you okay?"

"Corie? I'm fine, I think! But Nishiki…"

Corie looked over and saw Nishiki gravely injured against the smashed pews in the church.

Tsukiyama put his hand to his face. "Oh my, this is not good. It's been a while since I've had a flesh wound."

He looked up and they were able to see the result of Touka's attack. A horrendous cut stretched from one side of his face to the other across his eyes. Kaneki knew that was going to be appearing in his nightmares.

The man took out a handkerchief and wiped his face to reveal that the scratch was already completely gone. "So many uninvited guests," he complained. "Sheesh. Oh, well, this is perfect for me to warm up."

Touka started stretching her arm. "I'll mess you up so bad, you won't be able to eat, Tsukiyama."

"I don't see why you would want to mess me up, Miss Kirishima."

"You've been snooping around the café recently. I've been waiting to kick your butt. Those two were up to something, so I followed them and what do you know? You were here. Besides, I don't care about Nishiki, but if Anteiku loses a member, that means more work for me."

Tsukiyama chuckled. "That's so kind of you. It's not very like you. Perhaps you've gotten soft. You used to be like a well-sharpened knife. If you had the skill you had then, that strike would've taken me a full ten seconds to recover from."

"It was just a greeting. Don't want it to end too quick, do you?"

The purple-haired man removed his jacket to reveal the blood-red shirt underneath. "Oh, boy. The only thing that's changed is your mouth. Then again, that's what makes you so charming!"

He aimed a kick towards Touka that the girl quickly evaded and returned with a kick of her own.

Tsukiyama smirked as he deflected her attack. "As always, nice reflexes."

Kaneki and Corie went over to the injured Nishiki.

"Kimi…" the young man said weakly.

Corie looked up at the altar where Tsukiyama had tied and blindfolded the girl.

"You were 14 then, that would've made me 18," Tsukiyama laughed amidst his fight. "Cold, piercing eyes like a piece of crystal. I can't forget it."

While he rambled on about Touka's previous demeanor, Touka managed to kick him in the face sending him crashing into the pews.

"Shut up, you pretentious freak."

"I was so fascinated with you back then. That's all I was trying to say."

Kaneki came up to him and delivered another kick to the same side of his face which caused him to destroy another set of pews.

Corie's eyes widened. Where had that come from?!

Apparently, Kaneki had learned more combat training than she had initially thought. If they survived this, she made a mental note to take her training with him to the next level.

Tsukiyama chuckled. "Very nice kick, Kaneki." He looked up and saw both Kaneki and Touka lunging for him and just laughed again. "Oh, brother."

He blocked Kaneki's fist with one hand and Touka's foot with the other. Then he firmly grabbed onto Kaneki's hand before kicking Touka directly in her stomach.

Corie stood up and prepared to release her kagune.

"Look at the two of you. You move in the exact same way." He interlaced his fingers with Kaneki's. "If I remember correctly, I think it was like this."

He brought his knee up against Kaneki's arm, and a very loud, sickening snap reverberated throughout the church.

Corie flinched as Kaneki fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

"Now then, a little taste."

He jammed his fist into Kaneki's abdomen creating a very large hole.

Corie's breathing quickened and she felt herself losing control. Suddenly, she couldn't force her kagune out of her back.

_Blood. Blood everywhere_.

Tsukiyama brought his blood-covered fist up to his mouth.

_"__Thought ya could come into my territory, did ya?!"_

He licked some of the blood on his skin.

_Pain. Only pain after that. And then all that blood._

Corie sank to her knees.

Tsukiyama's eyes widened. "TRÉS BIEN! What is this flavor?! It's like nothing I've tasted before! A complex harmony of flavors swirling on my tongue! It's way beyond what I expected! But that is exactly why I want something even better! I won't settle for simple greatness! Now is the moment to serve her to you!"

Touka came up behind him and tried to catch him off-guard, but Tsukiyama easily caught her leg once again.

"Miss Kirishima, your coldness back then was extraordinary. But not now. Something has lit a fire in your eyes."

Corie crawled over to Kaneki, his blood pooling around him. "Look at me, look at me. You'll be okay. Please. You have to be okay."

The sickening sound of pierced flesh made its way to her ears. She turned to find Tsukiyama's kagune impaling Touka.

"It saddens me, Miss Kirishima. You didn't need it."

His blue kagune wrapped around his arm from his elbow well past his hand.

"You're disrupting my dinner." He started to make his way towards Kimi.

"Touka!" Kaneki said weakly, holding the hole in his stomach. "Stop! Come here if you wanna eat me!"

Tsukiyama laughed maniacally. "I'll be there shortly. With a piece of her flesh."

"How can you take a life so easily?"

"Are you going to talk to me about the value of life? Don't you think it's arrogant to decide which lives are worth more and which less, Kaneki? We are all equal meat bags. The weak crawl and the strong eat them. If you look at all creatures, humans take more lives than any other. Unlike them, we only kill humans." Tsukiyama approached the tied-up woman and pulled down her sleeve to reveal an old bite mark. "What is this? What a repulsive scar."

Nishiki weakly sat up from behind the pews. "Kimi…"

Corie looked over at him.

Did…did Kimi know Nishiki was a ghoul? Did she let him eat her?

Was it really possible for a human and a ghoul to be together?

With an enraged scream, Nishiki ran up to Tsukiyama and jumped on him, but Tsukiyama easily pushed the weakened ghoul off him.

"I've been fasting to eat Kaneki!" Tsukiyama screamed. "I'm starving!"

Nishiki tried again only to be impaled by his kagune. He coughed up blood and fell onto the ground, his strength depleted.

"Did you actually think you could take me down without using your kagune? A ghoul's strength is largely dependent on their kagune. It's an organ for predation so to speak. The RC cells surge within our bodies, an increase in muscular strength, an increase in recuperative strength, enhanced mobility, it gives us all kinds of benefits. If the kagune is an engine, human meat is gasoline! If you do not maintain it like I do with high-quality meals, it will soon rust and stop functioning. Listen to me, people! Low-quality sustenance will result in proportionate performance!"

Touka weakly got up. "He's right," she mustered out.

"Touka, are you all right?" Kaneki asked.

"Both you and I are basically fighting him empty-handed. I can barely heal my wounds. Yoriko's cooking catching up to me now of all times…"

"Corie, you've eaten recently, right?"

Corie frantically shook her head. "No, I-I-I can't get a clear head again!" she stammered.

Touka sighed and looked at Kimi. "If we can somehow feed on her…"

"What?!" Kaneki exclaimed. "No! She's—"

"You wanna be eaten by Tsukiyama instead?"

"No, but…"

"What'd I come here for? You die and I lose a day off, you idiot."

Tsukiyama finished warding off Nishiki and started towards Kimi once more.

Nishiki gritted his teeth and lunged towards the man with all of his remaining strength.

"Don't you know when to quit?!"

"Shut up!" Nishiki roared.

Tsukiyama pushed Nishiki back on the ground and began stabbing him with his kagune over and over again. "Stop annoying me! Stop annoying me! Stop annoying me! _Stop annoying me_!"

Blood spattered the carpets and pews inside the church.

"Can't we be friendly, Nishio? Don't ever get in my way."

"I…" Nishiki groaned. "I've got…nothing else. I've got nothing…but Kimi. Touch her and you die, Tsukiyama. I'll come back from the dead to kill you."

Kaneki realized then just how much Nishiki, a ghoul who had nearly killed him and his best friend and mocked him for being best friends with a human, cared for Kimi, a human herself. If he wasn't so scared, he might have given Nishiki a piece of his mind. He frantically tried to think of a way to save Kimi before Tsukiyama devoured her.

Corie was out of commission for a reason he didn't fully understand and unless he or Touka 'recharged' and accessed their kagunes…

"Touka," he said. "You at full strength versus Tsukiyama. Who's stronger?"

"I don't know," Touka answered. "We used to be about even."

"Touka…I have an idea."

* * *

**Corie's last name is sort of an Easter Egg, so props to anyone who can figure it out!**


	9. A Bite of Flesh

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

Tsukiyama plunged his kagune into Nishiki's body several more times with frightening glee. "Oh, boy, I may end up killing you!"

"Tsukiyama!" Kaneki shouted from down the aisle of the church.

Tsukiyama ceased injuring Nishiki and turned to see Touka sitting behind Kaneki while Corie sat next to him.

"You ready?" Touka asked.

"Yeah."

"Look away."

Corie moved in front of him. "Here, hold onto me."

Kaneki gripped onto Corie's forearms.

Then Touka took a bite out of his shoulder. Kaneki groaned and tightly clutched onto Corie.

Tsukiyama's eyes widened in horror. "_HE BELONGS TO ME_!"

He tried to attack Touka in blind fury, but just as he was about to hit her, his kagune was deflected.

Touka released her multi-colored wing, her eyes glowing red against the black sclera. "Yours? Are you crazy? There's nothing here that belongs to you."

Her kagune released multiple projectiles, but Tsukiyama remained unfazed.

"_Calmato_," he smirked.

"Cal…what?"

Corie ripped a portion of her shirt off and pressed it to Kaneki's injury. She ignored how much her hands were shaking and hoped Kaneki didn't notice.

They both turned to see Touka's kagune crystalize and send a flurry of hardened pieces towards Tsukiyama that even he could not dodge. They cut into his flesh in multiple places until he fell onto the floor.

He started laughing as he sat up. "I am overjoyed, Miss Kirishima! To sustain this much damage from an ukaku kagune I match up so well against! It was inexcusable for you to steal Kaneki from me, but to see you like this once again, it brings back the hunger I had back then!"

He changed the shape of his kagune to resemble a sword.

"I shall adorn Kaneki with your organs! An unexpected hors d'oeuvre." He quickly lunged for her. "I'll cut you into bite-size pieces!"

Unfortunately for him, Touka was fast enough to evade him. While he was distracted looking for her, she leapt over his head and attacked him from behind. Tsukiyama leapt up onto the balcony only for Touka to follow him.

With an enraged scream, she forced him back until the railing snapped and she pushed him back down onto the floor with enough force to damage the cement.

He chuckled weakly as he slowly got back up. "Not bad, Miss Kirishima. You leave me no choice. I didn't want to have to do this." He took out a handkerchief and started running towards Kimi. "But now I'm desperate…for _flesh_!"

Just as he was about to reach the altar, the heavily-injured Nishiki reached up and grabbed onto his tie.

Tsukiyama looked at him with a mixture of surprise and rage. "Nishiki, what are you, a zombie?!" He roughly kicked him in the face several times to add to his multiple injuries. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! _Let me go_! Let go of me!"

"Kimi…" Nishiki said weakly.

Tsukiyama panted heavily and prepared to deliver another blow. "I've had enough of you!"

And then, suddenly…his arm went flying away from the rest of his body.

Touka glared at him as she gracefully landed onto the floor.

Tsukiyama laughed. "My arm! This is not good! We are so…behind schedule." He frantically got up and started ambling towards Kaneki and Corie, blood pouring from where his arm used to be along with his injured eye. "Kaneki, please. Just this once, _give me a bite_."

Corie quickly moved in front of him, shielding him with her arms. She may not be to get her clear head back, but there was no way she was going to let this guy eat Kaneki without fighting him to her last breath.

Touka delivered the final blow from behind with her kagune. Tsukiyama collapsed onto the floor in front of them in a pool of his own blood.

"Eat your own flesh, you crazy Gourmet," she said coldly.

Nishiki mustered up what little remaining strength he had and crawled up to the altar, using it to support himself. "Kimi…"

"Nishiki?" the woman said quietly.

"Hold on. Let me untie you."

Touka walked up behind him. "Nishiki," she said firmly. "Move."

"Touka, no…" Kaneki whispered.

"I realize you care about her, but she knows too much. She's a danger to us. So I have to kill her."

Nishiki turned around, but it was clear he wasn't going to move.

"Touka!" Kaneki called, weakly standing up. "She's like Hide to me. Or Yoriko to you. I understand you want to get rid of risks. But if Yoriko finds out what you are, could you kill her?"

"Shut up. Don't you get it? I'm doing this so that doesn't happen!"

She threw her kagune projectiles in Kimi's direction, but Nishiki threw himself in front of her, taking all of the blows himself.

Corie put her hand to her mouth as she watched the already extremely broken ghoul become even more wounded. She never knew someone like Nishiki would willingly defend a human woman like this.

Why…why did things always end up like this? When was this awful cycle going to end? Why couldn't ghouls and humans just get along?

The blindfold fell from Kimi's eyes and she was able to see Touka clearly.

She looked at the flaming kagune sprouting from the girl's back. "It's beautiful," she said softly.

Touka's froze and her eyes widened in shock. "…What's that supposed to mean?"

Confused and angry, Touka turned and ran out of the church.

Kimi looked at Nishiki. "Is she…like you?"

Nishiki didn't answer as he fell to the floor, his injuries finally catching up to him now that the adrenaline had worn off.

"Nishiki!"

Corie quickly ran up to him and slung one of his arms around her shoulder to hold him up. "Come on, let's get back to Anteiku. My uncle will know what to do."

"Will he be okay?!"

"I think so. Let's go!"

* * *

Corie opened the door to one of the rooms on the second floor of the coffee shop.

Kaneki looked at who had come in from his position on the floor.

She gave him an awkward smile. "Let me bandage you up."

"Okay, thanks."

Corie took a seat across from him while he removed his shirt so she could better access the wounds. She started to clean them which caused him to flinch.

"Sorry," she apologized.

She began to cover the bite mark with a bandage before wrapping bandages around the hole in his stomach.

"That was really brave of you. Letting Touka eat your flesh so she could access her kagune."

"It wasn't like we had a whole lot of other options."

Corie grimaced. "I'm sorry I wasn't any help. When I lose my clear head…it's really hard to get it back. Supposedly, there's a way to do it, but it's unique to everyone and I still haven't figured out my way. And tonight…brought back a lot of painful memories all at once."

"Well, you know, you've been helping me out with my kagune. Maybe I can help you figure out how to get your head clear."

Corie finished patching him up and smiled. "I'd like that."

She got up to leave when Kaneki said, "Corie?"

"Yeah?"

"Earlier in the church, when Tsukiyama started coming towards me…you couldn't fight, but you still got in front of me."

Corie nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"But…why would you do that?"

"Why do I need a reason?"

Kaneki rubbed the back of his head. "I guess, just…thank you."

Corie smiled. "Kaneki, I'm always going to do my best to protect you. I promise. Ghouls look after their own, right?"

He sighed as she left. He didn't doubt her words, but it didn't explain why she'd tried to save him from Rize when he was still very much human.

* * *

"You okay?" Corie asked as she stepped inside Touka's room.

Touka sighed but didn't say anything.

"Okay, I know this is going to be a really weird thing to ask, but you have to tell me what Kaneki tasted like."

The girl's head snapped over to look at her friend. "What?!"

"He has the most alluring scent I have ever smelled! You can't tell me you haven't noticed! I nearly ate him twice because of it!"

"That doesn't mean—wait, twice?"

Corie awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, uh, that night with Rize…I _may_ have almost eaten him."

"You mean you tried to save him and then you almost killed him?"

"You're changing the subject. Come on, I'm dying to know what a guy who smells that good tastes like!"

Touka shoved Corie out of her room. "He didn't taste like anything, okay?! Now just get out!"

Corie winced when she slammed the door closed.

Inside her room, Touka sank against the door, her cheeks reddening. She didn't want to admit to anyone, and certainly not to Corie, that Kaneki's flesh had been the best thing she'd ever tasted.

* * *

Kaneki came back down to the café and saw Corie in the middle of an animated discussion with Hide.

"Hey!" she smiled when she saw him. "I was just telling Hide about all the places I've been."

Hide hit Kaneki on the arm. "Dude, you didn't tell me you had such a cool friend!"

Kaneki rubbed his arm. "Sorry."

Corie laughed. "I wouldn't say I'm 'cool'. I just like to travel. It's a pretty expensive hobby and it's a little intimidating to go somewhere you don't speak the language, but it is pretty fun."

"Where are you going to go next?" Hide asked.

"I'm not sure. I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking about heading back to Europe."

"You should take me with you!"

Corie smiled. "Sorry, I travel in a party of one. It's the only way for me to really focus and do what I need to do."

"Aw, but traveling is no fun alone. You have to bring someone with you one of these days!"

"I'll see where I end up in a couple years and decide then."

"Hey," Nishiki said as he came out from the back. "Don't you have class soon?"

Hide's eyes widened. "Oh, crap, I'm gonna be late! I gotta get going." He threw some money onto the table and grabbed all his things. "See you around, Corie!"

"It was nice talking to you, Hide!"

Kaneki started cleaning the table. "Hey, Corie? When Touka told me she'd kill Hide if he ever found out…she meant it, didn't she?"

"I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen," Corie told him. "It's so hard for ghouls to find close friends, especially ones that are human. That being said, if he ever tells anyone about us, I can't say for sure what will happen to him."

Kaneki turned back to the table. It was very clear.

Hide could never know.


	10. Lightning's Voice

**_Reina=27_**

**_Sasaki=22_**

Reina approached the ridiculously large mansion and quietly entered up the steps. A young man glared at her as she came upon the room she was seeking.

"Why are you back here?" he asked, his thick German accent punctuating each syllable.

"Move, Kanae," she said firmly.

"The last time you saw Master Shuu, you hurt him. Do not believe that I will allow it a second time."

"I said move."

"You cannot see him."

"Yes, I can. You can deny me all you like, but I've already received permission from Mr. Mirimo Tsukiyama, and you won't go against his word."

Kanae gritted his teeth but moved aside.

Reina opened the door to the room.

"If you so much as touch him, I will kill you," Kanae growled lowly.

"You said that the last three times, and we both know who won in the end."

She firmly shut the door behind her, leaving Kanae stewing alone. She hoped Kanae didn't start anything again because though she hated to admit it, she might not fare so well this time given how worn out she had felt lately.

Reina slowly walked up to the bed. "I see you're looking as pathetic as ever."

The man in bed barely moved.

"So the once great Gourmet has been utterly reduced to this. If only you could really see what you've become."

"Corie—" the man started.

"I told you to call me Reina," she snapped. "Do you realize what's happening? You're being incredibly overdramatic, even for you, and people are _dying_ in order to find something for you to eat because you refuse to get out of bed for the stupidest reason!"

"_Ma chérie…_"

Reina laughed humorlessly. "I can't believe you just called me that. Tsukiyama, do you even know how lucky you really are? How much some of us…envy you?"

"Do you…envy me, darling?"

Reina paused for a moment before finally admitting, "Now more than ever."

"Is that so?"

"Look, I miss Kaneki too, but there comes a time when you have to just suck it up and move on. People die all the time, especially in our world. That's just the way it is." She looked away from him, recalling everything she put herself through on a daily basis for the last year. "Though I have to wonder if I'm really any better."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. It's been two years, Tsukiyama. You can only sit around wallowing for so long." She walked over to the side of the bed and took a seat on it, ignoring the smell and silently wondering when the man had bathed last. "You know, if you were way less crazy and a few years older, I've always wondered if things might have ended up differently between us."

Tsukiyama gave a hoarse chuckle. "Are you saying you could've been interested in me, _mon ange_?"

"I guess we'll never know." She sighed and got up off the bed. "I say that we go for a walk today and get you some fresh air."

Tsukiyama didn't move.

"Get out of the bed or I will force you to."

He still didn't move.

"Fine."

She gripped the bed in her hands and proceeded to flip the mattress which caused Tsukiyama to go tumbling to the floor.

She held her hands up in triumph. "And I've accomplished what no one else will do! I got him out of the bed."

Tsukiyama didn't move an inch from the floor.

"Okay, you're being ridiculous. Will you just stand up?"

Nothing.

Reina let out a long huff. "Have it your way. I hope you know I'm not going to help you back up. I'll come back sometime later. Maybe I can get you to actually get off the floor next time."

The minute she opened the door, Kanae ambushed her. "I heard something. What did you do?"

He quickly rushed into the room to find his master lying on the floor.

"What have you done?!"

Reina whipped around. "What you all are too weak to do! You can only coddle him for so long before he needs to get a grip!"

"He's lost something important to him!"

Reina clenched her jaw. "…I have lost _everything_ I care about. I lost my entire family, and the one person I have left doesn't even know who I am. And so to watch him be surrounded by people who utterly adore him and he acts like that because he lost something he wanted to _eat_?! It's insulting. You should know how I feel more than anyone."

Kanae's face softened the slightest bit. "Maybe…this person he lost was more to him than just a meal."

"He never gave me any reason to believe otherwise."

* * *

Reina went inside the door to her apartment and removed her shoes before collapsing against the door.

It had been an exhausting day at work, and she was beyond grateful that she didn't have to train Sasaki's squad or go after them as Lightning today.

A knock sounded on the door causing her to groan.

"Who in the world could that possibly be?" she muttered. She stood up and glanced through the peephole on the door. Her eyes widened in shock. "Hide?!"

She quickly jerked the door open.

The blond-haired boy blushed bright red. "Uh, I'm sorry, I think I got the wrong place. Excuse me for bothering you."

He gave a small bow before turning and briskly walking towards the stairwell.

"Uh, Hide, Hide, Hide, Hide, Hide!"

Hide turned back around.

"Um, it's me. Sorry, I haven't taken off my work clothes yet."

"…Corie? Is that really you?"

She gave him a small smile. "I sort of go by Reina now." She looked around to ensure no one was seeing them interact. One could never be too careful. "Come inside."

Hide followed the woman into her small apartment and removed his shoes at the entrance.

"Um, I'd ask if you wanted something to eat, but I don't think you want anything I'm serving."

Hide laughed lightly.

"The only thing I've got is some coffee if that's okay."

"Sounds good, thanks."

"Make yourself at home. I'm just going to change really quick."

Reina went inside the bathroom and took off her suit and pants and switched into pajama pants and a loose shirt.

When she exited the bathroom, she slipped off her wig and allowed her dark blonde tresses to fall against her shoulders.

"Whoa," Hide muttered. "It really is you."

Reina smiled and went about making them both some coffee. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since…"

Hide looked down as he recalled the last time they'd seen each other. "Yeah. After everything kind of cooled down…I found out what happened to Kaneki. Well, I only got half the story anyway."

"To be honest, all this time, I thought you were dead. I mean, I never saw you again. What exactly happened that night?"

Hide sighed and moved his shirt away from his shoulder.

Reina gasped. The skin was completely scarred from what must've been an incredibly vicious wound. She wasn't totally sure how he had managed to walk away from that.

"Geez, Hide…"

"He needed his strength back. And there was only one way to do that. The problem was that everything I did to try to help him was for nothing in the end. I needed to get stronger and learn more so I could help the other ghouls. So I remembered what you had said and I decided to go out and travel to other places and learn what I could to be able to help people like Kaneki."

Reina laughed a little as she handed him a mug of coffee.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just…we kind of switched places. I've been working at the CCG for the last year."

"Really?"

"Mm-hm."

"But wait…how do you get past the RC gates?"

Reina walked over to her desk and opened one of the drawers. Then she pulled out a small bottle filled with dark liquid. "This."

"What is that?"

"It's an RC suppressant, but it's mega-amplified. This suppresses all my RC cells just long enough for me to get through the gates in the morning when I arrive."

"How did you get that?"

"A friend of mine broke into the CCG and stole one of their suppressants and then he had a contact of his amplify it for me."

"How the heck did he break into the CCG?"

"You don't underestimate a guy like him."

"Well, if this kind of thing exists, how come every ghoul doesn't use it?"

"…It's dangerous. Using it too often suppresses the RC cells permanently. Which means you can't access your kagune. And a ghoul who can't use their kagune is as good as dead. You can't fight, you can't hunt, you can't feed."

"How could you know that if no one has ever used it before?"

Reina paused. "Because I've had a harder time accessing my kagune lately and my wounds are taking a lot longer to heal than usual."

"Does it hurt to use that stuff?"

"It's the most agonizing pain I've ever felt."

"But you keep using it?"

"…I have to protect him."

Hide looked down at his feet. He knew that feeling all too well. After a couple minutes of silence, he quietly asked, "How is he?"

"He's okay. To be honest, I only started talking to him recently, but he currently has a squad of his own, and he asked me to help train them. Of course, they all think I'm human, so I have to be pretty careful how I go about teaching them."

"It must be…pretty hard to see him every day and…he doesn't recognize you."

Reina nodded. "That's the most painful part of this whole situation. When did you find out he was still alive?"

"About a month ago. I was living in Thailand when I managed to get information about a group of investigators called the Quinx who were half-human half-ghoul. The moment someone mentioned Sasaki, I knew who he really was."

"What are you going to do now that you're back?"

"I'm not sure. I'm still working on that part."

Corie had never really talked with Hide a ton before everything that happened, but she hadn't realized just how much seeing him right now could lift her spirits. Something about him just evoked light and warmth, and it was pretty much impossible to be sad when around him. She was glad that Kaneki had someone like him for a friend while he was growing up.

"You have no idea how good it is to see you right now," she smiled.

Hide smiled back warmly, seemingly knowing just how much she needed to be around him. "It's really good to see you too."

"Well, enough about this depressing stuff. Tell me about where you've been and the kinds of things you've learned. I want to compare notes."

* * *

After dressing and putting on her wig, Reina went inside her desk drawer and removed her syringe specially designed to be able to penetrate ghoul skin. Then she filled the syringe with liquid and pulled her sleeve up past her elbow.

She took several deep breaths and then plunged the needle into her flesh.

Her teeth clenched together as she held back screams, feeling the liquid pulsing throughout her body.

She felt her kakugan activate as she flung her head back. Ever so slowly, her eyes went from red back to blue and the black sclera faded back to white.

Panting heavily, she removed the needle from her arm and placed the syringe back in the drawer. Then she stood up and went to the mirror to put on her green contacts and glasses.

Reina quickly hurried out the door and rode down to the CCG headquarters to begin her day once again.

Unfortunately, her train was delayed and it took longer than usual to get to her destination.

She managed to get through the doors before she was really late, but she was definitely cutting it close.

"Hey, Reina," Urie greeted as he approached her just before she went through the RC gates.

"Oh, hi, Urie," she answered, a little put off that he was willingly talking to her outside of training. She nervously looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "I can't talk, I'm running a bit behind."

"Are we training today?"

"I'm not sure, but I think so. I'll check with Sasaki when I get the chance. Now, if you'll excuse me."

She started to head through the gates, but Urie stopped her.

"I wanted to discuss our specific training. I think that the two of us should meet more one-on-one privately so we can really work in-depth without worrying about the rest of the squad. You've mentioned how I need to control my emotions more, so I would appreciate your help with that."

Reina started to get even more antsy. "Um, I'll discuss that idea more with Sasaki. I should get to work now."

"Oh, and I also wanted to mention one other thing."

Reina bounced on the balls of her feet and once again looked at the clock. "Urie, whatever it is, we will have to talk about it later. I-I can't be late for work."

She abruptly turned and hurried through the RC gate, pausing after passing through.

Urie regarded her with suspicion as he watched her take a breath of relief. He still wasn't sure how she was making it through the RC gates, but it was very obvious to him that she had to get through before a certain time.

There were still so many unanswered questions, but he was determined to find the answers to them all.

* * *

The bell above the door tinkled to signal that someone had entered.

"Welcome to :re," Yomo greeted in his usual stoic voice.

Touka came around the counter. "Hey, Reina, it's been a while."

"Hey, Touka," Reina smiled.

Touka's eyebrows creased in a rare show of concern. "You're not looking so hot."

"I'm fine."

"I told you that you can't keep going on like this."

"Don't worry about me."

"If I don't, who will?"

Reina smiled again. "I forgot how much I've missed having you around to nag me. Can you fix me up a cup of coffee? You know the way I like it."

"Yeah, sure."

Touka went behind the counter and began brewing some coffee for her old friend.

Reina sat on a stool in front of the counter. "Touka…he's so close to remembering."

Touka paused in her actions and didn't say anything for a while.

"I can see that his memories want to return. But they have poisoned him to think that they're not worth remembering."

The young woman sighed heavily. "They may not be wrong."

"What?"

"Have you ever really given thought to the fact that he might be better off where he is now? He's better off…not remembering?"

Reina quieted for a moment before saying, "You might not believe me, but yeah, I have. And I know that there are some things he's better off forgetting, but…he is expendable to them. If he dies, they'll mourn for maybe a day or two and then they will replace him and forget him. He is nothing more…than a puppet. It's the only reason they kept him alive at all. You and I both know that."

"Maybe. You know my thoughts on the situation."

"Yeah."

"But regardless…I wish I could be with you when you fight for him."

* * *

It felt like it had only been yesterday he had seen Lightning when it had really been about three months.

But there that ghoul was again, fighting her own kind to protect him.

Suddenly, his head began to ache.

"No, no, please not now," he begged his own subconscious.

_"__You need a ghoul to fight for you,"_ the white-haired black-nailed version of himself taunted. _"You're so pathetic that you can't even fight without one of your enemies defending you."_

"Stop it," Sasaki pleaded. "Leave me alone. Please!"

_"__You know you need me. If you had me, you wouldn't need to rely on that ghoul all the time. Just accept me already, Haise. You can't get rid of what's already inside you."_

"I…I can't. I won't let you…take me."

_"__But you're remembering. It's only bits and pieces, but it's coming back and you know it."_

"I like my life now."

_"__How long are you going to keep telling yourself that lie?"_

"It's not a lie."

_"__That's not true, is it, Haise? Or else you wouldn't be so consumed with trying to remember who it was that saved you all that time ago."_

Sasaki felt his heart lurch. Ever since Lightning had saved him from nearly getting eaten and he'd had a brief flashback to another time, he'd wondered to himself who that girl could've been, what the situation was, what she had done for him, and if he knew her at all.

He cried out in pain as he sank to his knees. "Make it stop! Please!"

Lightning turned for a split second to look at the investigator. She went back to her fight and knocked out the other ghoul with one well-placed punch.

By now, Sasaki's kagune had activated and flailed around in several different directions as he screamed in agony.

Lightning paused for a moment, unsure of what to do next. She knew what she _could_ do, but it carried a lot of risk. No one was ever supposed to hear Lightning's voice, but she knew that it would help calm him down again.

She couldn't leave him here like this.

Without another thought, she ran over to him and took his head in her hands. "Hey, hey, focus on my voice. Focus only on me. You're getting overwhelmed. Just focus only on this one thing. Focus only on my voice. Let it pull you back. Make it your anchor. Nothing else exists. Just my voice."

Ever so slowly, Sasaki's kagune dissolved and his kakugan disappeared.

Breathing heavily, he stared at the ghoul in front of him.

Why…why would she fight to save him and help him when his memories threatened to consume him?

Who was this person?

Lightning bounded off before he could ask any further questions.

Exhausted from the onslaught of his past subconscious, Sasaki sat on the ground for a few minutes more, wondering where he recognized that voice.

* * *

Sasaki entered the CCG deep in thought. For two days now, he had tried desperately to remember where he knew Lightning's voice.

It was really eating away at him.

He smiled when he saw Reina entering the building. "Hey, Reina!"

Reina smiled back shyly and walked over to him. "Hi, Sasaki. Are we still on for training today?"

_Just focus only on this one thing. Focus only on my voice._

Reina.

That was where he knew the voice.

Lightning's voice was Reina's.

"Sasaki?"

He blinked and registered that he hadn't answered her question. "Um…I think we'll have to take a rain check today."

"Oh, okay. Just let me know when you want me to come to the Chateau again."

Reina went to her work station and ran her hand across her face. She knew that look. Sasaki knew who Lightning was. She should probably lay low for the next few days.

But what if Sasaki needed her? Even if he knew her identity, she didn't want to stop helping him. She'd have to just play the next couple of days by ear.

Sasaki took a few deep breaths.

What on earth was he supposed to do now? As an investigator, it was his duty to eradicate all ghouls. He should go straight to Arima or Akira and turn her in.

But…how could he possibly eradicate Reina? He had come to admire her and look up to her as a teacher and a friend. And all this time she was a ghoul?

How did she get past the RC gates? Why had she become so ill that he had had to treat her wounds which should've healed by themselves? Why had she helped train his squad knowing that their training was to help them kill ghouls? Why was she even working at the CCG at all?

"Hey, Teach, are you okay?"

Sasaki looked up and realized he had walked right past the conference room he was supposed to be in to attend a meeting.

He turned to face Mutsuki and put his hand to his chin. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Please fill me in on what information you guys have gotten for our latest mission."

Sasaki attempted to get a grip on his emotions and focus on the task at hand. He would have to deal with the Reina problem later.

"Wait a minute," he said once he was seated. "Where's Urie?"

* * *

Urie discreetly approached the door to Reina's apartment. Technically, as a Rank 2 investigator, he wasn't supposed to be here alone, and technically, he wasn't supposed to investigate without proper paperwork, but…rules were always meant to be bent.

Besides, if he managed to expose this woman for who she truly was, he was pretty certain that the people at the CCG would be willing to overlook his bending of the rules as they promoted him.

He easily picked the lock on her door and swung it open, careful to avoid leaving any trace of his presence. If she really was a ghoul, he had to be extra cautious since she might be able to pick up more than the average human.

It would be ideal if he could find the lightning mask she wore in her ghoul form, but she probably carried that on her person. He searched through her closet and her desk drawers for anything he could use to incriminate her.

Finally, he stumbled across her collection of medicinal bottles filled with very dark liquid, her syringe resting next to them.

He smiled. He wasn't sure what this was, but he was quite certain that it wasn't medicine. Not to mention this syringe looked like no other syringe he had ever seen before. He couldn't take that since she would surely notice the missing tool, but she had enough medicine bottles that she wouldn't notice if one wasn't there.

He put one of the bottles into a plastic bag so he could return to the CCG and have it tested to find out what the liquid was and what it was used for. It looked quite similar to the RC suppressants investigators used in combat.

He knew it.

Reina was a ghoul.


	11. Aogiri at the Cafe

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

"Okay, so to help you, I need to know more about you and how your ability works," Kaneki said down in the underground training tunnel.

"All right, what do you want to know?" Corie asked.

"You mentioned that you lose it if you're angry, upset, or scared. What specifically triggers those in you?"

"Well, I get angry when I see investigators or other ghouls hurting people I care about. Depending on how badly they're hurt, that can also make me panicked and upset. And I get scared when…when I remember someone very important to me dying."

Kaneki assumed that she was speaking of her parents. "It sounds to me like you either get lost in that one moment that scares you, or you get lost in the current moment when you're angry."

"I guess."

"So what I think you need to do is try to take yourself out of the moment and remember things that make you happy or calmed."

"That's easier said than done."

"I never said it wouldn't be difficult. But good memories might help you to get your clear head back."

"It's worth a shot, I suppose."

"May I ask then…what made you lose your clear head at the church?"

Corie looked at him for a long moment before finally answering, "You getting hurt."

Kaneki didn't say anything, unable to find words to respond.

"I told you that when I see someone I'm close to getting hurt, that's one of the things that causes me to lose my clear head. And ever since I've met you, I've come to care very deeply for you. So…Tsukiyama injuring you like he did…sort of caused me to lose it."

Kaneki knew that Corie cared about him, but he had no idea that she cared so much about him that he could cause her to lose her ability.

"It's been about five months since we first officially met outside Anteiku," she continued. "A lot has happened in that time, and I've recently found that I'm closer to you than a lot of people. The thing is…I travel so much that I rarely have time to make close friends. But with you…I don't know, I feel very…comfortable. You're incredibly easy to talk to and I have a lot of fun training you and teaching you about our world." She froze when she realized what she had just blurted out. "I really hope you don't feel weird hearing me say all that!"

Kaneki laughed a little. "No, I kinda feel the same way. I've always felt really…safe around you. Even amongst all of the really scary things I've been up against."

Corie smiled. "Except when I tried to eat you?"

The boy laughed again. "Only for that one moment. The second you came back to yourself, I wasn't afraid of you. And after finding out why that happened, I don't think I really can be afraid of you."

Corie tossed her arm around his shoulders. "You know if your theory works out and I need to think of a good memory to get my clear head back, this moment is going to be one of them."

* * *

The door to the café opened and in walked a very tall man followed by three people wearing gas masks and hoodies marked '1', '2', and '3'.

"Hello, welcome, sir," Kaneki greeted politely.

Corie looked at the newcomers from her position on the chair at the bar.

The man just scowled back at the boy as he took a step forward.

"Uh, can I help you?"

"Is your manager here?" the man demanded.

"The manager? He stepped out."

"What do you want?" Touka asked. "If you got business with the manager, could I get you a cup of coffee, sir?"

The man took one glance at Touka and let out a quite unmanly squeal. When he got a better look at her, he let out a small sigh. "Oh…you're a girl."

Corie frowned. Why would he look so freaked out at the sight of Touka? And why would he be so relieved she was a female?

Touka fixed the man a cup of coffee and sat him down at one of the tables. She and Kaneki sat across from him while Corie stood behind them with her arms crossed.

"Um, sir?" Kaneki said hesitantly. "If you need to talk to our manager, I can relay a message to him for you."

The man smirked and took a sip of his coffee. "Nah, don't bother, I'll just ask the three of you instead. Know a girl named Rize Kamashiro?"

Corie kept her face straight, but this man definitely had her attention now.

"My name's Banjo Kazuichi. I'm looking for her. I'm from the 11th ward. In fact, that's where I first met her."

"So what makes you think that she would show up here?" Touka asked.

"Well, I knew she was headed to the 20th ward. And that she loved coffee shops."

_More like she loved the innocent young boys coming to coffee shops_, Corie thought with disdain.

Banjo sniffed the air and suddenly glared at Kaneki. "No way," he said quietly. He then furiously grabbed the front of Kaneki's shirt. "You want to tell me why I can smell Rize all over you?! Huh?!"

Corie took a step forward. "Hey, enough!"

"No rough stuff in the shop!" Touka ordered.

"Banjo, chill out!" one of the guys in sweatshirts exclaimed.

Banjo squeezed his eyes shut with what looked like despair. "So it's you?"

"Uh, excuse me?" Kaneki stammered.

"Are you the lucky one dating Rize?!"

"It's not like that! But I guess you could say we're close!"

Banjo screamed so loud that his face turned red and he started throwing punches towards Kaneki which the boy easily dodged.

"Listen, you've got it all wrong! Get back—"

Kaneki merely stood up straight, knocking his head under Banjo's chin…and it was enough to knock the other ghoul clean out.

The one in the blue sweatshirt with a '2' leaned over him. "Holy crap, are you okay, Banjo?!" she asked.

"I am so sorry," Kaneki quickly apologized.

"He's out cold."

"Can't say I'm surprised," the sweatshirt-clad person with a '1' added.

The one wearing a '3' put his hand to his head. "I'd like to apologize on behalf of our leader."

"What a wuss," Touka remarked.

They put a blanket on the unconscious ghoul and waited for him to awaken. He began murmuring Rize's name in his sleep.

"He must really want to see her," Kaneki said quietly.

"Even we don't know why he's looking for Rize," the '2' sweatshirt explained. "But we think he was in love with her."

Corie raised her eyebrows. If he was in love with Rize, what kind of person did that make him? Rize was cold, unfeeling, and only cared about pleasing her own voracious appetite. Was this ghoul similar to her? If a mere knock to the head was enough to wipe him out, he certainly wasn't as tough as her. Even Corie had a hard time fighting Rize.

"Trespassing into others' feeding grounds, killing the 11th ward leaders that tried to purge her, she was really out of hand. But Banjo admired her for living the life she wanted to live. When Rize left the 11th ward, I think it was offhand, but she said something like 'good luck being the leader'. He took that to heart and did the best he could to lead the ward."

_A ghoul as weak as him led ghouls in such a tough ward?_ Corie thought.

"But guys from elsewhere came in and took over eventually. He's not that strong and Rize killed all the strong ghouls. To be honest, they ordered this search for Rize. But I think Banjo's looking for Rize for reasons other than what we've been given."

Banjo slowly opened his eyes.

The red '1' sweatshirt leaned over him. "Oh, good, he's coming to."

Banjo sat up and groaned as he rubbed the back of his head.

Kaneki knelt down and handed him a glass. "Here you go, have some water. Listen, I'm really sorry about earlier."

The other ghoul took the glass and quickly drained it. "No worries," he answered calmly. "What's your name?"

"I'm Kaneki."

"Nice to meet you. You know, you're a lot stronger than you look, man."

"Uh, thank you."

"I get it now. That's the reason she's with you. 'Cause you'll protect her."

Corie might've laughed at the irony of that statement if the man wasn't such a loose cannon.

Kaneki quickly held up his hands. "Uh, no! It's not what you think! Rize and I aren't together or anything!"

"You mean I was wrong?!"

"Well, yeah."

Banjo bowed so lowly that his head touched the floor. "I'm sorry! It was my bad! Please forgive me!"

"It's okay. Seriously, you can—"

"No, I can't! I gotta pay my dues for making a stupid mistake!" He quickly got up again and looked at him urgently. "Hey, man, do you have any idea where I can find her?"

Kaneki sighed. "This is tough, but…the truth is she's, uh…" When he saw the way Banjo was looking at him, Kaneki didn't have the heart to tell him what had happened. "She isn't here anymore."

Banjo put his head down. "Oh, I gotcha. I should've known. You can't tie down a free spirit like her."

Kaneki stood up and returned to the counter. "I'm sorry. I know that's not much help."

"Kaneki, listen, you mind if I ask a favor of you?"

"Uh, no. So what's up?"

"Thanks, man. If you see Rize again, I need you to tell her something for me. Please. Tell her to run."

"What? Run?"

"I used to be in charge of the 11th ward. But not anymore. A gang of ghouls called Aogiri something came rushing into the 11th ward. We stood up against them at first, but there were too many of them. I just couldn't stand losing any more of our guys. After they subdued the ghouls in the ward, they began hunting down the Doves. I thought they were crazy at first, but they soon began thinning out the Doves in the ward. I think they're going after the Doves in the northern area of the ward next. They're planning on building up their numbers and wiping out the Doves. I'm only an underling in their organization, but I hear their leader is a cold-hearted dude. He's looking for Rize for some reason. I think he wants to hurt her. They'll eventually come to the 20th ward too. I'm telling you guys for your own good, you guys should run too. If not, do what they tell you."

Banjo might've explained more, but at that moment, the window behind him shattered, and a figure with the same color hair as Touka came into the room with a powerful kick into Banjo's back. He went flying across the room, slamming into '1' and '2' and breaking the counter.

"You got a big mouth, Banjo," the intruder glared. "You wanna be beaten till you barf up blood again?"

"Ayato?!" Corie exclaimed.

"Wait, 'Ayato'?" Kaneki said. "That's…Touka's brother?"

Touka stepped forward and glared at the boy.

"Been a long time, my stupid sister," Ayato smirked.

"Don't ever call me that," Touka snapped. "So where have you been all this time?"

"Learning about the real world. See, I'm not a close-minded hermit like you."

"You little punk."

"You're the punk. Open your eyes to reality."

The bell above the door tinkled. What was usually such a pleasant sound suddenly turned incredibly sour when two men walked in, one incredibly broad and one very slim.

"Okay, I've given you plenty of time," the broad one said coolly. "Can we come in now?"

Banjo's eyes widened in horror. "What are they doing here?"

Corie looked at him with concern. Why did these ghouls terrify him so much…?

_Wait a minute_, she thought to herself, her unease growing. _The 13__th__ ward had a ghoul dubbed Jason, didn't they? Could this guy be…_?

The slim man turned the 'OPEN' sign over to 'CLOSED' and shut the door behind him. "Please forgive the intrusion."

The broad man took a step forward. "So, who's this, Ayato?"

"My, my," the slim effeminate man sighed happily. "You know, I'd heard your older sister was here, but no one told me she's as gorgeous as you." He looked over at Corie and smiled. "And who is this little darling? It doesn't seem fair that you get to know all the pretty people. I would ravish any one of you."

He ran his finger over his tongue which made Touka and Corie grimace in disgust.

"So how'd you know I was here, Yamori?" Ayato asked.

"Easy," Yamori smiled. "I just followed your boy, Banjo. Gotta say, your men are first-rate. They led me right to you."

Corie looked over at Banjo. She didn't think he meant to lead all these psychos to the coffee shop, but he still had and now they had to deal with it.

"Look, Rize isn't even here!" Banjo insisted. "So leave them alone—"

He was cut off when Yamori kicked a table directly at his face.

Yamori took a couple steps forward past Kaneki. Then he sniffed the air and smiled. "That stench reeks in here," he growled. He cracked one of his knuckles and turned to Kaneki. "I feel like I've smelled it somewhere before. It seems to be coming from you! Hey, Nico, you think this one'll do?"

"Sure, why not?" the feminine man answered. "If that's who you want, let's kidnap him."

Corie quickly went to stand in front of Kaneki, shielding him with her arms. "You're going to have to get through me!"

Yamori smirked. "Yeah? Okay."

Before Corie even had time to react, the ghoul delivered an extremely powerful punch to her gut which sent her flying across the café. She groaned in agony and held her stomach as she coughed. No one had ever delivered such an intense blow to her before and it had knocked all of the wind out of her.

When Touka tried to attack, he did the same thing to her before grabbing Kaneki's throat and hoisting him in the air. "There's no standing between me and what I want."

Kaneki wrapped his legs around Yamori's arm, trying to break free from his grip. Yamori slammed him directly into one of the café tables and kicked his chest.

"Kaneki!" Touka called weakly.

Yamori cracked another knuckle. "Okay, kid. Get up or stay down? You know, you play your cards right, you might be able to get out of this ordeal alive. But you gotta behave, got it?"

Kaneki screamed in pain as Yamori pressed his huge foot onto his chest, crushing his lungs. Mustering up all of his strength, he pushed the leg off him, revealing his one kakugan eye in the process.

"Oh, my," Nico smiled.

"Whoa, you're one of them one-eyed ghouls," Yamori said.

Kaneki pushed the large man away and attempted to punch him, but out of nowhere, Yamori's kagune suddenly appeared and impaled him.

Corie's eyes widened in horror and she could feel all of her ability to fight quickly leaving her mind.

Furious, Touka charged him, but Ayato punched her out of the way and slammed her back into the counter. "You're so weak, Touka," he taunted. "You remind me of Dad."

Touka's kakugan activated and her kagune began to flame from her backside. "Dad was a hero! He stood up and fought for our sake! You don't know anything!"

She crystallized her kagune and attempted to attack, but Ayato easily blocked it with his own similar kagune.

"You're the one who doesn't know anything, Touka. Both Mom and Dad died because they were weak. What can the weak protect? Who can they save? Without power, you lose everything. Your wings can't fly anywhere. But not me. I'm going to prove that ghouls are better than humans!"

Faster than Corie thought possible, Ayato released multiple shards of his kagune that sliced Touka enough to render her weak and powerless.

"Stay down there groveling."

"You're so ridiculously cool, Ayato," Nico smirked.

At the sight of both of her close friends incapacitated, Corie let out an enraged scream and released four tentacles from her back. She charged straight up to Yamori and pounced on him from behind.

Unfortunately, with little control over her kagune, Yamori easily deflected her tentacles and stabbed her with his own sharpened kagune before forcefully tossing her aside.

"Touka, Corie…no," Kaneki groaned.

Yamori grabbed the boy by the head and lifted him up. "This guy still has some spunk left in him! Mm, crazy how much you smell like her, kid!"

Corie managed to lean up a little just as Yamori began punching Kaneki over and over again. She flinched with each blow, tears forming in her eyes as she put her hand to her mouth.

"There you go, give it to him, baby," Nico purred.

"Please, stop!" Corie begged weakly.

"You're a tough guy, aren't ya?" Yamori smirked. "Well, in that case, how do you like _this_?!" He slammed him straight into the wall beneath the counter.

"Please!"

"How about this?! AND THIS!" He then slammed him into the glass window, shattering the entire thing.

Yamori laughed manically. "All right, then how do you like _this_?!"

Blood spattered across the entirety of the café.

"And _this_?! How does _this_ feel?!"

_Think of good memories_! Corie thought desperately, trying to get her ability back. _Think of good memories_!

It was no use. It was impossible to think of something good as she watched Kaneki get beaten nearly to death in front of her while she could do absolutely nothing.

"Please…"

"What about _this_?! How do you like _this_?! How do you like _this_?! How do you like _this_?! _HUH_?! This?! What about _this_?! And _THIS_!" Yamori held up a bleeding Kaneki triumphantly. "Oh, wow, I can't seem to break this little guy!"

"Chill out, Mr. Yamori!" Banjo interjected. "I mean, we should go, sir!"

"HUH?!"

Nico came up behind him and lightly touched his shoulder. "I hate to say it, but Goatee here is right."

"_Okay_."

To Corie's shock, Yamori turned and plunged his hand into Nico's stomach.

Even more shocking was that Nico's response to such an action was to smile and say, "Hubba, hubba. Let's save the rest for when we get home."

"Thank you, Nico."

"No problem, precious."

Yamori dropped Kaneki onto the floor.

With speed she wasn't even aware she had after getting so injured, Corie quickly crawled over to him and took his head in her hands. "Kaneki, please wake up. Come on, please! Open your eyes! Kaneki, please! Kaneki!"

Yamori kicked Corie out of the way with even more extreme power than before now that he was hyped up on all the damage he had caused Kaneki.

Corie groaned weakly and saw black dots begin to dance across her vision.

"Should we take her and your sister too?" Nico asked.

"No, they'll slow us down," Ayato answered. "My sister can stay here and pretend she's human. Banjo, stuff the one-eyed freak in the bag. We're heading back to 11."

Yamori stood panting, a crazed look in his eye as Banjo put Kaneki in a large body-sized bag.

Banjo looked at Corie regretfully, and she could immediately tell that he didn't want to go along with his orders but he wasn't strong enough to do otherwise.

Corie glared at Yamori and growled out in a voice that could only be described as animalistic, "I am going to find you…and I am going to _rip_ your heart out."

Yamori looked down and smirked. "I'd like to see you try."

The last thing she saw was his foot coming towards her face and then everything went black.


	12. Kaneki at Aogiri

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

When Corie awoke, she wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was now well into the night.

Her uncle knelt next to her on the floor, looking at her with concern. "Are you all right, my dear?"

It took a full two seconds for the memories of every horrible thing to come back to her, and she immediately broke down in sobs.

Yoshimura gently took his niece into his arms, allowing her to cry in his embrace.

Yomo looked at the young woman sadly and was reminded of the time when he too had held her to comfort her what felt like only days ago.

"Yomo, gather everyone," Yoshimura said quietly. "Anteiku will be closed for a while."

Corie pulled herself together, at least somewhat, and went upstairs to the second floor of the café in one of the rooms. She and Touka nursed their injuries that hadn't healed from Yamori's and Ayato's attacks while they waited for the rest of their allies to arrive.

Hinami, Nishiki, Koma, and Irimi quickly arrived and gathered in the room with them.

Corie stood next to the couches, her stomach still aching from where Yamori had torn a hole through her with his kagune.

Nishiki tossed her a can of instant coffee. "Calm down. He's not as weak as he looks."

Corie sighed and took the can from him. "Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean they're not going to hurt him."

Yoshimura stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. "I'm glad to see you're all here. A few more will be joining us later, but let's get started. We need to discuss how Anteiku should respond to what's happening in the 11th ward. Before that, there is one thing I must say regarding Kaneki who was abducted. We should consider that we'll never see him again."

"What?!" Corie exclaimed furiously. "You can't be serious!"

Nishiki stood up. "You telling me Kaneki's dead?"

"No," Hinami said in disbelief. "I won't get to see him again? No…"

Yoshimura sighed. "I can't say for certain if he's dead or alive, but if he's alive we may have a chance to save him. However, this time, we should also expect the worst."

Nishiki ran a hand through his hair. "If there's a chance, we're going, right?! To save him?! Aren't we?"

"The Aogiri Tree is practically made up of ghouls who live to fight. It won't be easy to infiltrate their stronghold and bring Kaneki back. We also can't ignore the CCG's movements either. They are most likely dispatching men to the 11th ward to wipe out Aogiri Tree. If so, our hands are tied. There's a very good chance we'll be killed trying to rescue him. Honestly, it's too risky."

"Forget it!" Corie yelled, turning towards the door. "I'll go and get him back myself!"

"Corie," Touka said.

"What?!"

"I'll come with you. If Yoshimura won't go, we'll go alone."

"I'll come too," Nishiki added. "Might as well. I owe him one. If he's gonna die anyway, I need him to die after I repay him. Otherwise, I won't sleep well at night."

"I want to help too," Hinami put in. "He's done nothing but help me. I'll do whatever I can."

"Everyone, let me be clear about something," Yoshimura said calmly. "I never said I didn't intend to save him. I just wanted you all to know that I cannot guarantee your safety. Now that I know how you all feel, if you want to help Kaneki, put your lives on the line. In return, Yomo and I will do our best to protect you. Ghouls helping each other is Anteiku policy. Are you in?"

Corie, Touka, Hinami, and Nishiki all voiced their consent.

"Good. Irimi will be part of this plan. She'll be backing me up. There's one more thing." He looked towards the door. "You can come in now."

The door opened, and everyone looked at the newcomer in complete shock and disgust.

"_Amore_, it's been a while!" Tsukiyama exclaimed as he rested on the doorframe.

"Are you kidding me?!" Corie shouted. "_This_ psycho?!"

"How are you even still alive?!" Touka demanded.

Tsukiyama smirked. "Oh, I just followed your advice."

_"__Eat your own flesh, you crazy Gourmet."_

"Didn't provide as much energy as human meat, but it was enough to keep me alive. Look at my arm! It's attached again! I'm glad to be a ghoul. I also made an unexpected discovery. I actually taste pretty good! I guess when you eat as well as I do, the quality of your flesh improves. Another bit of knowledge!"

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Why? Do you object?"

"Of course I do!"

"I asked him to come here," Yoshimura interjected. "Our chances of saving Kaneki improve with him on our side. He'll be a dependable ally."

"I'm honored, Yoshimura," Tsukiyama smiled. "I feel the same way you all do. A friend like Kaneki placed in danger by unsavory people. That is unacceptable! Am I wrong?!"

Corie furiously turned to her uncle. "We can't trust this lunatic! All he's ever wanted is to _eat_ Kaneki! What makes you think he won't try to do that now?!"

"We don't have to worry about that," Yomo said as he stepped inside the room. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Oh, boy," Tsukiyama sighed. "Can't you see that I'm a changed man? My reason for wanting to save Kaneki is purely out of friendship. Out of my fondness for him. He's been so good to me. I was an idiot. I realize that now."

"Yeah, and ghouls and humans everywhere get along," Corie said sarcastically. "If you try anything, I will _not_ hesitate to kill you myself."

"Oh, but _mon ange_, that didn't go so well last time, did it?"

Corie gritted her teeth and took a step towards him, but Nishiki put his hand on her shoulder. "Save it for Aogiri," he said.

"Hello?" Itori smiled as she peeked her head inside. "Can we come in?"

She bounced into the room with Uta behind her.

"Mr. Yoshimura asked for our help too. Heard you guys were up to something dangerous." She proudly presented Yoshimura with several documents. "Here's the floor plans."

"Thank you, Itori," Yoshimura smiled.

Uta handed him a paper bag. "I brought these."

"I knew I could count on you, Uta. These are perfect."

"I'm glad I could help. So, I'm teaming up with Renji?"

"Yes."

"You're coming too, Uta?" Touka asked.

He slung his arm around Corie's shoulders. "Yeah, gotta stay in shape. And it's difficult for me to turn down help for my favorite girl."

Corie smiled a little as she pushed him away.

Itori frowned. "And what am I, then?"

"My other favorite girl."

"You can't have two favorite girls."

"Yes, I can."

"Hinami will be with Irimi and me," Yoshimura explained. "Corie, Touka, Nishiki, and Tsukiyama are with Yomo and Uta."

"Mr. Yoshimura, if Irimi's going, what about the Devil Ape?" Koma asked.

"I need the Devil Ape to watch the café."

"You got it!"

"There's one thing you must all understand. Even if we end up being able to save Kaneki, he may no longer be the Kaneki we knew."

The group disbanded to prepare for the incredibly difficult mission that lay ahead.

Corie returned to her temporary room and shut the door. She went over to the window and looked at her reflection in the glass.

How had today gone so wrong? Why did Yamori have to go after Kaneki? Why did Rize have to pick him?

Just…why?

Corie put her hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs as she sank down to the floor.

She had always known that she cared about Kaneki, but she hadn't realized just how much until she was faced with the prospect of never seeing him again.

Yoshimura entered the room and sat on the floor across from her. "Corie, I know how much you'd rather just storm the place right this second. But you can't blame yourself for what happened."

"He…he told me he felt safe with me," she cried. "And then I let him get taken by those monsters! Who knows what they're doing to him right now?"

"You did not _let_ anything happen. You did the best you could, and I'm sure he knows that."

"You said it yourself. He's never going to be the same after this. If…if he's even still alive. I tried to fight. I tried so hard to get my clear head back. Harder than I've ever tried before. And it wasn't enough. I failed. Again."

"Listen to me. Anger can easily hinder you, but it can also be a very powerful tool. Control it and learn to work with it rather than fight against it." He gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Go get something to eat and allow for the rest of your wounds to heal. We're going to need you at full strength." When he reached the door, he paused for a moment. "And one more thing. I'm probably not going to say this too many times, so enjoy it now. I don't want you to hold back."

Corie looked back at the window. She watched as her eyes hardened and the muscles in her neck tightened. "I don't plan on it."

* * *

_Please…make it stop…someone…anyone…_

Kaneki had never felt so much pain, agony, and hopelessness in his entire life.

He remembered Corie's words about her training: that he would rather be dead because then the pain would stop.

That was how he felt now.

He just wanted to die.

He felt a hand on his cheek. When he looked up, he saw Corie kneeling in front of him with her warm smile that had always made him feel so safe and calmed.

"C-Corie?"

"Hey, Kaneki."

"You're not really here."

Her smile faltered. "No, I'm only in your mind. But that's better than being completely alone, isn't it? I'm so sorry. For not being able to stop this."

"I…I don't blame you."

"I know. I almost wish you would."

The sound of light giggles filled Kaneki's subconscious.

Corie groaned. "Oh, great. Will you _please_ just leave the poor kid alone?"

A familiar purple-haired ghoul appeared before Kaneki's eyes.

"Rize?" Kaneki whispered. "You're still alive?"

"That depends on your definition of living, I suppose." She gently touched his shoulders as the world before them transformed into a funeral. "Whose funeral could that be?"

Kaneki's eyes widened, the line between reality and his imagination quickly blurring. "Dad?"

"I didn't know you lost your father."

"Yeah. I was four. I barely remember his face, to be honest. I remember putting his bones in an urn, but I didn't really know what it meant. All I remember is that something very frightening was happening. I felt a vague sense of fear."

"Tell me about it."

"I never really felt lonely not having a father. But I wondered what he was like. Dad was an avid reader and had a lot of books. When I read my dad's books, I felt like I was talking to him. It was strangely calming. The smell of old books still makes me feel that way. I think that's when I learned to love reading."

The scene morphed to an auditorium with a bunch of small children on the stage.

"Who's that?"

"Hey, that's me."

Corie smiled fondly. "You're so adorable, Kaneki. Wait a minute, are you the main character?"

"They forced me to. When I said I knew the story of this play, everybody told me to play the lead."

"You didn't say no?" Rize asked.

"All my classmates wanted me to. I couldn't say no. The play ended up being surprisingly good, I remember."

"This is all great, but I want to know more about your mother."

"…She was a good cook. I always looked forward to dinner. I especially loved the hamburger steak she'd make. I can't even remember what it tastes like anymore. There's no way to remember now."

Corie looked at him sadly and went to touch his shoulder, but Rize draped herself around him, cutting her off from him.

"But was your mother really a kind and admirable person?"

"What do you mean?"

The scene once again shifted to Kaneki's home. They all watched a woman cutting flowers at a desk.

Rize pointed to some money on the table. "What's that money?"

"Remittance."

"To whom?"

"Her older sister. My aunt. She didn't have much financial leeway, so she begged my mother for help. We weren't that well-off either, but still, I don't think my mother could turn her back on her. When my aunt's husband lost his job while in debt, my mother's burden grew even larger. She had a part-time job during the day and worked as a janitor at night. She even did a side job at home in between. I never saw her take a break."

"And?"

Kaneki's eyes watered as he started to cry when the scene shifted again to his mother's death. "It was exhaustion. It wasn't an illness. She just worked too much."

"Did she really have to push herself so hard?"

"At ten years old, I was all alone. I was taken in by my aunt's family. She said it was the least she could do. My aunt, the Asaoka family, they welcomed me into their home. I was lonely back then, so I was so happy. I thought she was a kind person like Mom. I tried hard to become a part of the family too."

Corie watched as Kaneki's aunt smiled when she saw his test. "Is this your test, Ken?"

"Yeah," a young Kaneki answered.

"You're smart like my little sister. I wish Yuichi were more like you. I'll fix something you like for dinner tonight."

"So I studied even harder," Kaneki told Corie and Rize. "I thought she'd be proud of me again, but instead, she said something unexpected."

His aunt frowned as she pointed an accusing finger at him. "What? Are you trying to rub it in my face?"

"Her only son, Yuichi, wasn't doing too well in school. She compared me to him and got upset. Actually, she was comparing herself to my mother."

"That little goody-two shoes, always making me look bad! You're not even my child, so why should I even care about you?!"

"Her sense of inferiority was directed at me. Eventually, that house became a very uncomfortable place. Nobody in that family cared about me. My only family was my father and mother. They are no longer here. I don't have many friends. Hide was the only person I could lean on. We'd usually talk about stupid stuff, but I can't say how much his friendship means to me."

"Kaneki—" Corie started.

"Uh-oh, the master is here," Rize interrupted. "Looks like we'll have to see you later."

"No, wait, Corie, don't go!" Kaneki pleaded.

"Kaneki, I'm coming, I promise, I just need you to hold on a little bit longer!" Corie said quickly.

The door opened, and Jason walked inside. Rize disappeared. So did Corie. And she took the little bit of warmth and safety Kaneki had felt in her presence, even if she hadn't been real, with her.

* * *

"It's my fault…" Kaneki wept, having just watched a mother and son killed right in front of him. "Why's it always me? Why? Somebody help me…somebody…"

"Nobody's coming to help you," Rize taunted. "It's just you here. Even I'm a figment of your imagination. Desperately clinging to a dead person. That's pathetic. Misfortune, misfortune. But who brought on that misfortune? There's no such thing as luck. It's simply a combination of two situations. And who creates those situations? Who is it? Who? Who?" She wrapped her hands around his head. "'Every disadvantage in the world is from a lack of competence'. Don't you agree? This all started because you were a naïve fool. Deceived by me, altered by the doctor, and turned into a monster. You brought it all onto yourself. 'Know pain instead of hurting'. That's nice and touching, but that's why you're where you are now. If you'd killed Yamori, those two would still be alive."

"Sh-shut up," Kaneki growled softly.

"Your mother too. If she'd had the guts to tell her lazy sister to get a job, she wouldn't have worked herself into an early grave."

"Stop…"

"Not much of a mother, was she? If she loved you, she would've abandoned her sister and focused on raising her son."

"Please stop it."

"Be honest with me. You wanted her to choose you all along."

"That's not true." He quietly began to cry when he realized he was just lying to himself. "Mom…I wish you had chosen to stay with me. You left me all alone. I miss you so much it hurts. Why? Why couldn't you just live for me? You had a choice! Why didn't you choose _me_?!"

"Even if it meant forsaking your aunt?"

"Yes, then she'd be here now!"

"Even if it meant hurting her?"

"If it had to be done!"

"Even if it meant killing her?!"

"_Whatever it takes_!"

"Good boy!" Rize put her hand to his cheek. "There are times where you have to let go of something to protect another. Your mother couldn't do that. Not only did she fail to save either of you, she lost her own life. That is not kindness. That's just being weak. She lacked the resolve to let something go. Can you still be the one who 'knows pain'? Can you forgive somebody like Yamori?"

"No, I can't. Yamori, who has no respect for life, and the organization he belongs to, I can't forgive them."

"If Aogiri's strength grows, eventually the 20th will suffer too. Your friend, Hide, everybody at Anteiku, they may all suffer like that mother and child."

"I won't let that happen. Not just Aogiri. Anybody who tries to take away where I belong. I won't show mercy. Anybody who threatens my peace of mind. Like handpicking coffee beans for that one perfect cup. I have to pick out the bad beans."

"But you don't want to use your kagune. You said you can't use a power you can't control."

"Then I'll learn how to control it."

Kaneki moved from the chair he was chained to and pounced on the young woman.

"I'll just have to surpass you."

He took a bite out of her shoulder and began devouring her. The pure white flowers around him became drenched in red. As he finished, his black hair whitened and his sole kakugan gleamed red and black.

"I am…a ghoul."

"Kaneki."

The boy turned around to see Corie kneeling beside him.

"I'm sorry."

She put her hand to his cheek, and he was stunned by how different her touch felt compared to Rize's even though it was the exact same action.

"I can't change what happened with your mother or with your aunt…but I am here. After we first met and I saved you from yourself after your fight with Nishiki, I told you that I would be there for you and you didn't have to feel alone, and I meant it. No matter what happens, you will _always_ have a home with me. Because unlike Rize, I'm still out there. And I'm coming for you."

Kaneki closed his eyes and pressed his hand to hers.

"I'm coming."


	13. Storming Aogiri Headquarters

**_Corie=24_**

**_Kaneki=18_**

Corie stood outside the Aogiri Tree hideout with the rest of Anteiku squad. Touka had put her hair up into a French braid for her to keep it out of her face during the fight. All of them donned Aogiri masks, courtesy of Uta, and purple robes in order for them to blend in and infiltrate.

For the last two weeks, every second that they weren't planning the raid, she spent down in the tunnel training. She pushed herself beyond her limits to build up her strength and sharpen her focus so that her anger didn't get the better of her.

By now, Corie felt little else but intense rage and fury inside of her, but she had been able to successfully control those emotions to work for her in order to maximize her kagune's ability. Her head had never felt clearer.

Yomo came up behind her and touched her shoulder. "Are you ready?"

She looked up at the large structure ahead. "I have two promises I need to keep. And I don't plan on breaking either one of them."

"Let's move."

Corie and the rest of the group easily maneuvered through the halls, evading any suspicion from the other Aogiri ghouls thanks to their disguises.

Upon reaching a set of stairs, a large group of Aogiri ghouls frantically turned around. "Hey, which squad are you guys from?!"

With swift ease, the Anteiku ghouls dispatched all of the Aogiri ghouls.

Corie flinched and her kagune fanned out and pierced four ghouls at once. Without moving a single step, she continued to manipulate her kagune and took out the remaining ghouls.

Touka removed her mask. "We're Anteiku squad."

Corie whipped off her mask and approached one of the ghouls who had remained conscious. She knelt down in front of him with a straight face.

"You don't stand a chance against Aogiri," he spat. "There's only a few of you, and there's hundreds of us. You can't kill all of us."

"Maybe not, but I'm not here to kill all of you. Here's the deal. You are going to tell me where they're keeping Kaneki. If you do, I'll go ahead and let you live. If you don't, my friends here are going to kill you nice and slow. Either way, you're not going to see the morning. Your choice."

The ghoul smirked. "You're here for the kid? You might as well forget about him. He's as good as dead. Kinda wish I'd been there to see it for myself."

"Suit yourself."

She stood up and motioned for Tsukiyama and Yomo to have their way with him.

"Okay, okay, wait!" the ghoul said quickly.

Corie turned around. This guy sure broke pretty easily. Then again, between Yomo's stoic but imposing face and Tsukiyama's unnatural glee at this mission, she could admit they looked pretty intimidating together.

"If he's still alive, he…he'll be in the hobby room."

"What's the hobby room?"

"The torture tower behind Tower 5. Jason's been holed up in there recently playing with his new 'toy'."

Corie clenched her jaw as she looked in the direction of the large tower. Kaneki had been kept in a torture tower? How long had he been locked up in there with someone as psychotic as Jason? She took a couple deep breaths and got her anger under control again. "I hope you're right."

She once again motioned to Tsukiyama and Yomo.

"Wait, I-I thought you said you'd let me live!"

Corie stared back at him expressionless. "I lied."

As she headed up to the tower, she listened to the ghoul's agonizing screams behind her.

"You shouldn't have messed with Ken Kaneki's big sister."

Tsukiyama smirked as he turned to Yomo. "Remind me to never make her angry."

Early on in their planning, Corie had insisted that after they'd infiltrated Aogiri's headquarters and discovered Kaneki's location, she would go after him alone. This was met with a lot of disagreement, particularly from Touka, because if she was on her own, the rest of them would have no way of knowing whether or not she was in trouble and they wouldn't be able to get to her if something happened. Corie promised that she understood the risks but felt that she would be able to get to Kaneki faster if she didn't have to worry about protecting her other squad members. Once everyone had finally relented, they all agreed that while she was retrieving Kaneki, they would stay behind and try to keep anyone else, whether it be a ghoul or a Dove, from going after her.

Corie burst into the so-called 'hobby room', a large chamber with a black-and-white checkered floor. The entire place smelled of Kaneki's blood, but to her despair, the boy was nowhere in sight.

However, a large mess of a ghoul with a half-kakuja rested on the floor, writhing in clear agony. It was hard to believe that was the same ghoul who had beaten her up two weeks ago.

She quickly went over to him and knelt down beside him. "You are going to tell me everything that happened or I'm going to make you wish that whoever did this to you had finished you off. Start talking."

Yamori continued whining and wailing unintelligibly. "1000…minus 7…993…"

Corie released her kagune and stabbed him directly in the back which caused him to scream. "I said start talking."

"That…that kid," he mustered out. "That little punk. He-he did this. I'll…I'll kill him! Minus 7…986…979."

"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that Kaneki, a kid who can barely defend himself, did this to you?" Her face hardened when she realized what that meant. "What did you do to him?"

Yamori continued groaning and mumbling more random numbers.

Corie stood up straight and kicked him so that he rolled onto his back. Then she stepped over him and stood directly above his waist. "You know, the last time you saw me, I believe I promised that I was going to rip your heart out. Well, never let it be said that I don't keep my promises."

She let out a scream and plunged her hand directly into his chest which caused Yamori to cry out in agony.

Corie yanked her hand out with the massive organ in question. It remained beating in her palm despite leaving its owner. "Well, how about that? Jason does have a heart."

Staring down at the ghoul who wheezed and gasped for breath with his only life force gone, Corie slowly crushed the heart in her hand. Blood and gore dripped down her arm until the organ was nothing but a pile of mush. She let the pile fall from her hand directly onto Yamori.

Running footsteps sounded from outside the chamber along with several voices she knew belonged to no ghoul.

Corie smirked. "The fearsome Jason of the 13th ward, downed by a teenager, a woman, and an investigator. How humiliating for you."

She quickly leapt out of the chamber before the investigators saw her. From what Yamori said, Kaneki was alive. Or at least he had been several minutes ago. She had to find him.

Other ghouls tried to ambush her, but she easily took them all out with her kagune tentacles. She grabbed one of them by the front of his cloak and growled, "Tell me where Kaneki is!"

"I don't know!" the ghoul answered. "I swear!"

Corie plunged her kagune into his chest and dropped him to the ground.

She came across another Aogiri Tree ghoul and fought briefly with him before he too was incapacitated. "_Where's Kaneki_?!" she yelled.

"Yamori got him!" the ghoul answered.

"Yamori is dead and Kaneki wasn't there. Tell me where he is!"

"Yamori is dead?"

"Yes, and you're going to be next if you don't tell me where he is _right now_!"

"I don't know! He's been in that tower ever since Yamori got him."

"How long has that been?"

"I think that was ten days ago."

Corie saw red. Ten days? Ten days stuck in that room? Ten days tortured by Yamori with no end in sight? Ten days forced to endure all of that pain?

She sharpened her kagune and decapitated the ghoul in front of her.

"Corie!" Nishiki called.

Corie dropped the body onto the ground and stood up to face him. "What?"

Nishiki was a bit taken aback at the fire inside her eyes. He had never seen her like this before. "Yomo has him."

Corie thought her heart would burst with relief. "He does? Is he okay?"

Nishiki paused. "He's alive."

She would take it. He was alive. He wasn't dead. Aogiri ghouls hadn't killed him. Yamori hadn't killed him. He'd survived.

She turned her head when she heard a horde of footsteps making their way down the nearest hall then looked back at Nishiki. "I'll meet you outside."

Nishiki paused again and nodded once, knowing full well what she was about to do. Not wanting to be the one to stop her when she looked at him like that, he took off down the stairs to get out of the building.

Corie cracked her neck and released the rest of her tentacles, dispatching three Aogiri ghouls with just that. Then she calmly walked through the halls of the Aogiri building. Each time a ghoul attempted to attack her, she sliced through them while barely moving a muscle. She had never had such excellent control over her kagune, and she sure as heck wasn't going to waste it.

She wanted these people to see what happened when they messed with someone from Anteiku. She wanted them to see that if they ever did it again, the same result would occur. She wanted them all to suffer.

By the time she reached the building's exit, she had left behind a bloody mess of deceased Aogiri ghouls in her path.

"Hey!" she heard someone call.

Careful to stay concealed in the shadows since she had lost her Aogiri mask, she turned to find an investigator a few feet away from her, armed with his quinque.

"Did you kill all these guys?"

"What if I did?" she answered calmly.

"Why would you kill your own? Are you ghouls so sick and depraved that you would slaughter your own kind as well as humans?"

"That's a bold accusation. Humans kill their own kind every single day, but when ghouls do it, why is it so much worse? Have you ever considered that it's not that simple?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Not all ghouls kill mindlessly. We have reasons. Is it so impossible to think that we can't care for someone as well?"

"Enough with the riddles!"

Corie paused and looked straight at the investigator. "They took someone away from me. I wanted them to know the pain that they caused me."

"What about the pain you've caused us?"

"What about the pain _you've_ caused _us_?"

"You ghouls are what makes this world wrong. It's up to me to correct it."

"Who are you to decide what's wrong and what's right?"

"People live in fear every day because of your kind. You've taken away people I respect and you've hurt thousands of families with your insatiable greed."

"People live in fear because of your kind too. But they're ghouls, so their fears don't matter, right? I don't have insatiable greed. These ghouls made their beds, and now they must lie in it. As for the ones I had to eat, I'm quite sure no one will miss them."

"You couldn't know that."

"You're right. But at least I made an effort to try to make it that way. May I ask you a question now?"

The investigator clearly paused, taken aback that she had asked something so politely especially after he'd done nothing but insult her and her kind.

"Why haven't you killed me yet?"

"I wanted to know why you do the things you do. If you enjoy taking away the lives of innocent people. I wanted to know your answer before I erase you."

"Was my answer what you wanted to hear?"

The investigator didn't respond, questioning her words, before remembering the situation. He charged towards her, but Corie easily pushed him aside with one of her kagune tentacles.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "But I can't die right now. There's someone I need to protect."

She raced out to the forest behind the building to meet up with the rest of her squad. Including Kaneki.

Amon looked after the ghoul who had fled before he could land a single blow, his mind replaying every single word she had spoken. "Someone you need to…protect?"

Corie was confused. Who was that investigator and why did he seem so invested in what she had to say? Investigators weren't known for engaging in small talk with the enemy.

She could tell that he harbored a lot of hurt and anger inside of him, no doubt from the pain of losing people to ghouls and their hunger. She couldn't blame him for feeling angry towards her and ghoul kind.

But…to ask her questions instead of just outright attacking her?

It didn't make any sense.

It took a bit of time for her to track down her group, but soon enough, she could hear familiar voices.

"Kaneki?" she whispered as she broke through the brush into the clearing.

The boy turned around, and she couldn't believe it. His hair had turned white, his nails had become a deep black, and he looked utterly exhausted but much stronger at the same time. He was entirely different from the nervous boy she had known before. And he would never be that boy again.

"Are you…okay?" was all she could get out.

"I'm okay," he smiled sadly.

Corie raced up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry," she said softly, her voice breaking. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. I'm sorry."

Slowly, Kaneki wrapped his arms around her waist and all but collapsed in her hold. Even after everything that had just happened to him, her embrace felt safer than ever especially now that it was real instead of a hallucination.

"Geez, Corie, you look terrible," Nishiki remarked when he got a good look at her.

Corie looked down and realized he was right. She was covered in blood and gore from head to foot and she wasn't sure how much of it was her own. "I was…busy."

Touka looked back at the building. "I can't believe I'll be back in school soon after almost dying here so many times."

"I'm sure it'll remind you to appreciate everyday life," Nishiki responded.

"And I've got my shifts at Anteiku too. What a bummer." She looked over at Kaneki. "Hey. We gotta do something about your hair when we get back. Can't have you serving customers looking like that."

Kaneki smiled sadly. "I'm not going back to Anteiku."

"What?" Corie exclaimed quietly.

"There's something I want to do. I need to prepare for it. I need to get stronger. There's a lot I need to find out too. I don't have time."

"Kaneki," Banjo said. "Thanks for everything. You saved us. Let me help you. I'll be your shield or gofer or whatever. You might not need my help, but…"

"Thanks, Banjo. That'd be great. Thank you."

"All right!"

"If Banjo's going, I guess we're going too," '2' sweatshirt said.

"Especially since he might slow Kaneki down…" '1' sweatshirt added.

Tsukiyama clapped his hands together. "That's a brilliant plan! If Monsieur Banjo is the shield, that makes me the sword then." He got down on one knee before him. "I shall be the knight who paves the way for you."

"So you're still alive," Kaneki said.

"There's so much yet to do before I die. I could be useful, Kaneki."

"It would be reassuring to have you on our side. I would appreciate your help. But you try anything funny, and I'll kill you. Please keep that in mind."

Tsukiyama smirked. "Like brother, like sister."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Kaneki," Touka started. "I wanna go—"

"Are you going to college, Touka?" Kaneki asked.

"What?"

"The entrance exam is next year, isn't it? You should probably start preparing for it soon. Anteiku will be short-staffed because of me. I'm sorry about that. I'll stop by for coffee once in a while. I'd love to see your latte art again, Touka. The rabbit one is interesting. I like it. I'll see you, Touka."

Confused and frustrated by Kaneki's refusal to let her come with him, Touka ran off.

"Hey!" Nishiki called. "Touka, where are you going?!" He turned back to face Kaneki. "Kaneki. Just, uh, you know, watch yourself, okay? You better not die."

Uta came up beside Kaneki. "It was worth coming here. The mask looked good on you. You're a sweet guy." The tattooed ghoul put his arm around Corie's shoulders again. "You're not going back either, are you?"

"I can't," Corie answered quietly. "You know me. I could never stay in one place for too long."

"I'll see you around then, Cor."

"Thanks for helping us out tonight, Uta."

"My pleasure."

Corie looked at Kaneki.

Her uncle was right. He was never going to be the same. She knew it.

If only she had gotten here sooner.

* * *

The moment she got home, Corie hopped into the shower and allowed the dried blood to fall from her body and slowly run down the drain. Now that all of her adrenaline had completely run out, she was thoroughly exhausted and longed to sleep for at least a week. The fighting was hard enough by itself, but working to keep her head clear for that long had nearly wiped her out.

As she ran her hands through her hair to ensure that everything was clean, her mind went back to everything that had happened tonight.

From storming the place, to finding Jason, to killing multiple Aogiri ghouls, to the brief conversation with the investigator, to…to finding Kaneki.

Oh, Kaneki.

What on earth had been done to him? Did she even want to know?

With the water still pouring over her, Corie leaned her head against the shower wall and quietly sobbed.

After she'd dried off and changed into her sweatpants and a t-shirt, she went into her temporary room and sank down against the wall, hugging one of her knees to her chest.

She didn't know how long she stayed in that position, but the only thing that broke her out of her thoughts was a quiet thump at her window.

Kaneki nimbly hopped inside.

Corie smirked at him. "You're using the window now?"

"It's faster."

"I guess so."

Kaneki sat down on the floor next to her. "What's wrong?"

"I should be asking you that. What do you mean 'what's wrong'?"

"You sit in that position when you're upset about something."

"Kaneki, how could I possibly talk about my problems when you've just lived through a hellish nightmare?"

"Because that's what brothers and sisters do for each other. Or do you actually not consider me to be like your younger brother?"

Corie looked at him in embarrassment. "You, uh, you know about that?"

"I asked Tsukiyama to clarify on that whole 'like brother, like sister' remark, and he told me that you called yourself my big sister while storming Aogiri."

She awkwardly rubbed her knee. "Look, it was kind of just the heat of the moment, and I was feeling especially protective at the time so it was kind of impulsive, but if that's really weird to you or if it's just way too soon for me to be pulling that card, I won't ever call myself that again or anything similar. Sorry to put you in such an awkward position…"

"Corie, I don't mind. I told you that I've always felt safe around you and that's because you give off a very protective aura similar to that of an older sibling. Or at least, I think that's how it is since I don't actually have any siblings. If you think of me as your little brother, I can easily think of you as my protective older sister." He moved a little closer to her. "So will you tell me what's bothering you?"

Corie sighed heavily, thinking of where she wanted to start. "I don't know if you were conscious for this, but, um, just before Yamori took you, I swore to him that I was going to find him and rip his heart out."

Kaneki raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had no idea she was capable of being so vicious. Sure, her training was almost impossible and there was that time she'd almost eaten him, but this was something else.

"So tonight, I looked for him. And I found him in that room, or at least what was left of him. Nicely done, by the way."

"Thanks."

She shut her eyes and fought a nauseous feeling rising in her stomach. "I can still smell all of that blood." She swallowed thickly and tried to forget about the acrid smell inside the torture chamber so she could continue. Her eyes began to burn with more tears. "I, uh, I went over to him and I kept my promise. I ripped his heart right out of his chest. And I liked it. How…how does that make me any different than him?"

She put her hand to her eyes as if that would somehow block her tears from him.

"Corie," Kaneki said in the firmest voice she had ever heard him use. "You are nothing like Yamori and you never will be. He caused endless pain for no other reason than his own sick pleasure. You caused pain tonight in order to find me and protect the people you care about. Don't think for a second that you are anything like any of those ghouls at Aogiri, especially Yamori."

Corie wiped tears from her eyes, embarrassed that he had seen her cry. So much for strong, protective older sister.

"Listen, when I was trapped with him, I started hallucinating Rize. I think it was my mind's way of keeping me occupied during the downtime. But it wasn't just Rize I saw. I saw you too. And you told me that you were coming for me and that you would always be around so that I would never have to be lonely again. I know it was just my mind's version of you, but I'm pretty sure you would've said the same thing if you had really been there. You…helped keep me going. When Rize taunted me endlessly and brought back all these painful memories, you were there to tell me I wasn't alone and that I always had you."

Corie smiled a little, her eyes still shining. "If I couldn't get to you sooner, then I guess a hallucination of me is better than nothing, huh?"

The two of them let out light laughs which seemed inappropriate for such a situation, but it was the only thing keeping them both from completely falling apart.

Corie nervously bit her lip. "Look, I…I understand if it's too soon, but…will you tell me what happened? It's just…if you don't, my mind is going to attempt to fill in the gaps and I don't know if it will be better or worse."

Kaneki sighed. "I'll tell you. It's probably better to do it now before I really get to think about it. But it's not pretty."

"I need to know."

And so Kaneki launched into the story of everything that had happened to him since the moment Yamori abducted him. He explained how some of the members of Aogiri who had been forced into joining much like he had had decided to rally together to escape and how they carefully planned everything to the tiniest detail. He explained how their escape attempt utterly failed and how he offered himself to Yamori to save everyone else in the group.

And then he told her what Yamori did to him while in the torture chamber. He could tell that it was incredibly difficult for her to hear, so he tried to keep the imagery to a minimum. He went more in-depth about what Rize said when she appeared in his mind which led him to telling her more about his mother, what had happened to her, and how his aunt had treated him when he had gone to live with her family. He added how safe and calmed he had felt when Corie had appeared because even if she hadn't been real, seeing her and her comforting smile was enough.

When he got to the end when he told her how he had accepted the person he had become and thereby accepted his ghoul side, he went into extreme detail about how he defeated Yamori to give her a little peace of mind about the rest of the horrible story.

"So you shouldn't question if what you did was terrible and made you like him," he finished. "I'm pretty sure what I did to him was a lot worse."

Corie was silent for a long time, attempting to process everything he had just told her. It would probably take days for her to get a handle on that whole story, and she didn't even want to think about how this had affected Kaneki both physically and mentally. She wasn't sure he would ever be able to get past this.

"And that isn't even taking into account what I did to Ayato," he added.

"What? What did you do to Ayato?"

"…Broke exactly half of the bones in his body."

Corie raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, that may have been a bit much."

"I…I guess I don't really need to train you anymore."

"Well, that's the whole point of me not coming back here. I need to learn, fight, and get stronger."

"You'll have Banjo and Tsukiyama to help you out with that. I think…I think I need to get away for a little while."

"You're leaving again?"

"I can't hover over you all the time. You'll never learn anything that way. I think you need to learn some things on your own for a while. And I…just need some space for a bit."

"I understand."

"Just promise me you won't get yourself killed while I'm gone. Because if I come back, and rest assured that I am coming back, and I find out you're dead, I'm bringing you back to life so I can kill you myself."

Kaneki smiled. "Noted. I guess I'll see you around then, Corie. Be careful."

"Yeah. Same to you. And Kaneki? If you ever need me, just let me know. I'll come running in a heartbeat."


	14. Captured

**_Reina=27_**

**_Sasaki=22_**

Reina hadn't shown up to work in a few days, and that really made things difficult for Urie. He had to make sure he caught her when she was at the CCG. That way, all of the arrogant fools he worked with could see what he had accomplished that they'd utterly failed to notice. It would do him absolutely no good to catch her when no one could see him.

The test results on the mysterious liquid had come back. It was indeed an RC suppressant but it was amplified enough so that it suppressed all RC cell activity for about forty-five minutes after it was injected into the bloodstream. That explained how she got through the RC gates in the morning. How she got her hands on something like that, he still didn't know, but that didn't matter. The fact that it was a suppressant of that intensity was enough to incriminate her.

The young investigator walked inside the administrative department, even though he knew Reina wasn't in today.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Reina Furukawa's supervisor," he said to the woman sitting at the front desk.

"All right, let me call her. Can I have your name?"

"Kuki Urie, Rank 2 Investigator."

The woman picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Hi, I have an investigator here who says he needs to speak with you. Okay." She hung up the phone and smiled up at him politely. "She'll be here in just a few minutes."

"Great."

Soon, a woman with her black hair tied up in a bun came out to greet him. "Hello, my name is Erika Takada." She gave him a polite bow. "How can I help you today?"

"I need to talk to you about one your workers, Reina Furukawa. Can you tell me about her?"

"Miss Furukawa? Well, she's a very hard worker and everything she does is always concise and complete. Sometimes, she tends to disappear from her desk for a little while, but she always gets her work done on time so I don't really have any complaints."

"Have you ever noticed anything unusual about her?"

"Not really. It may be rude for me to say this, but there's nothing really that memorable about her. She's quiet and reserved and I know she doesn't really spend time with any of her coworkers whether it be on breaks or days off. To be honest, I'm not sure half of my workers even know her name."

Reina was smarter than he gave her credit for. By becoming a faceless person in the crowd, she made it so no one would remember her if questioned about her and it would make it harder to suspect anything might be different about her. Surely she understood how stupid it was to begin training them if she wanted to maintain her cover.

"The only thing truly unusual about her is the amount of coffee she drinks. The days can get long especially when you're only staring at pages and a computer screen for eight hours, but I think she drinks more coffee than a ghoul!"

"And she comes to work every single day?"

"Every now and again, she'll call in sick and take off for about a week at a time, but it happens very sparingly, and again, her work is always finished in time. I don't understand, is she in trouble?"

"Right now, we're just getting some information, that's all."

"I see. Well, let me know if there's anything else I can do to help. She isn't here today, but I can notify you when she comes back."

"That would be perfect, thank you."

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Reina walked into the CCG front entrance. When she wasn't immediately assaulted by multiple investigators, she continued walking to her department. Like usual, she passed through the RC gates with no problem, and still no one did anything.

Maybe…Sasaki actually didn't know who she was. Well, she _had_ used something of a different voice when she had tried to talk him down considering she was usually very soft-spoken around him. Still, while she would be relieved if he hadn't made the connection, it kind of said something about him as an investigator if he didn't.

She kept her guard up for the remainder of the day, but still nothing.

Maybe her cover actually hadn't been blown yet. Maybe she was still in the clear.

What she didn't know was that her supervisor, Mrs. Takada, had made a phone call to Urie telling him that she had shown up that day.

When her workday concluded, she headed for the exit.

And that's when everything started to go wrong.

Two men in formal suits whom she didn't recognize approached her and blocked her path.

"Miss Furukawa, we would like to speak with you privately please."

Reina's heart skipped several beats, but she kept a calm composure. "What is this about?"

"We would prefer to speak about the matter alone."

"Is there something wrong?"

"We have it on good authority that you may not be who you really say you are. If you come with us, no one has to get hurt. Please hand us your bag."

Reina quickly tried to consider her options. She could pull out her kagune right here and now, but she wasn't feeling too great at the moment and with this many quinques surrounding her, that probably wouldn't end well for her. Even in peak condition, she wouldn't have been able to fight all of these investigators at once. She could run and find some means of escape. What she would do after that was the real question.

But the one thing she knew was that she couldn't go with these men. Not when her identity had been exposed.

So she went with the second option.

She turned and bolted.

"Hey, stop!" one of the men shouted after her.

Reina didn't know where exactly she was running to, but anywhere was better than the lobby.

Unfortunately, Urie appeared out of nowhere with his sharp kagune at the ready and easily disabled her.

The two men in suits caught up to her and knocked her down onto the floor. One of them pinned her arms behind her back as he handcuffed her. By now, a large crowd had gathered around her, staring at the confrontation with confusion and interest.

_Come on!_ she silently pleaded. _Come on, you stupid kagune_!

It was no use. Her kagune refused to come out as a result of the hefty amount of RC suppressants she'd forced herself to take.

While one man kept her pinned down, the other grabbed her bag and started rifling through it.

"Stop!" she pleaded.

He pulled out her infamous blue lightning mask.

"Care to explain why you have this…Lightning?"

Multiple gasps sounded from the crowd of people.

Reina looked at the mask helplessly.

And then she met eyes with someone in the crowd.

Sasaki.

He stared back at her, a wounded expression on his face. She didn't blame him for feeling hurt and angry. But she saw something else. Was it…regret?

"Well done, Investigator Urie," one of the men congratulated. "We'll be sure the director hears about this."

Reina looked up at Urie who smirked down at her.

He knew. He had known for weeks.

One of the investigators picked up a small rifle. "This is to make sure you don't access your kagune while we take you into custody."

Reina winced when she felt a sharp sting on her backside before her vision started to go foggy.

"Ka…neki…"

Her world turned black as she lost consciousness.

* * *

Reina slowly opened her eyes and took in her new surroundings. She was in a small pale gray room. The only items inside were a bed and a chair. There was a funny odor in the air, but she couldn't place what it was. One of the walls had a large mirror on it. It didn't seem to make much sense to her for them to put it there. Why would a prisoner need a mirror?

When she looked at her reflection, she noticed that her wig was gone along with her glasses and colored contacts. Her blue eyes seemed to have dulled in color, and her dark blonde hair seemed a bit more lifeless than usual.

She looked down and saw that she had been changed into dark green clothing resembling scrubs. She preferred not to think about the idea of someone changing her and just prayed it had been a woman.

"Hello, Miss Reina Furukawa," an unfamiliar voice announced over a sound system. "Oh, but that isn't your real name, is it? No, your true name is Corie Masataka."

"Where am I?" she asked.

The mirror disappeared to reveal that it was a one-way mirror and while she couldn't always see who was on the other side, someone could always see her. A middle-aged man smiled at her with an unnerving amount of pleasure.

"Inside a special room at Cochlea. My name is Jiro Kimura, and I'm the one who's been put in charge of you."

"Why didn't they kill me?"

"A ghoul infiltrating the CCG is no small task. We can't let you die without knowing why you did what you did. This room has been specially built for interrogating ghouls, and lucky for me, you're the first one I get to try it out on. Right now, a steady aerosoled form of RC suppressant is being pumped into the room to keep you compliant. You will be fed once every two weeks. The rest of the time is devoted to learning your secrets."

"I'll tell you what you want to know."

"Very well. We'll talk soon, Miss Masataka."

Corie waited impatiently for that Jiro or whatever guy to return. She knew that once she explained everything, they would most likely kill her. It was possible they would keep her for information purposes later on, but the chances of that were slim.

In the meantime, Corie had to not think too much about her current situation. If she thought about the tiny room she would never be able to leave or how she would never walk outside again or how many people were watching her…well, she just couldn't think about it.

After what felt like six hours, the door finally opened and Jiro walked in. He brought in another chair with him and sat himself down across from her.

"All right, Miss Masataka. Let's get started, shall we?"

"I want to talk to Haise Sasaki."

"Tell me what I need to know, and we'll see. Why did you break into the CCG?"

Corie sighed and began her story. "I started working at the CCG about a year ago. The reason is that I wanted to protect the investigator known as Haise Sasaki. I'm sure you're aware that he lost all of his memories two years ago, and I knew him in his previous life when he was Ken Kaneki. While he did not remember me, I still wanted to ensure his survival. So I became the ghoul known as Lightning and I stepped in during his battles against other ghouls when it looked like he was in trouble. Sometimes, I would just take care of other ghouls who were getting ready to join the fight and take them out of commission so he wouldn't have to fight them too."

Jiro drummed his fingers against his knee. "Now see, this story doesn't quite add up, Miss Masataka. Why would a ghoul actively fight to protect an investigator? They kill people like you every day. Who's to say Sasaki wouldn't have killed you?"

"I told you, I knew him previously."

"No one else who knew him before seems to have come after him."

"I can't control their actions."

"That or you actually didn't know him at all and you don't want to help him. I'm afraid you'll have to come up with something better if you want to be let out of here."

"But-But I'm telling you the truth!"

"That's what they all say." He got up from the chair and started towards the door. "To be honest, I'm kind of glad you didn't come clean right away. That's going to make it a lot more fun for me."

"What are you talking about?"

Jiro smirked cruelly as he left the room and shut the door.

Corie sank against the bed in defeat. She couldn't believe he thought she was lying.

No, she could. A ghoul infiltrating the CCG only to attempt to save an investigator did sound pretty unrealistic.

But it was the truth as strange as it seemed.

And since Jiro didn't believe her, what exactly was he going to do to her to get the supposed truth from her?

* * *

While Corie waited for Jiro to return, the mirror disappeared and revealed a familiar face on the other side.

She slowly got up from the bed and walked over to it. "I wanted to tell you," she said softly. "Every time I saw you, I wanted to tell you who I really was."

Sasaki looked back at her with that same horrible betrayed look. She wasn't sure she had ever seen him look so angry and it hurt her to know that she was partially the cause.

"Is it true?" he asked coldly. "Did you know me before?"

"Yeah."

"You lied to me."

"I'm sorry. I…"

"This entire time, all you've done is lie to all of us. The person that I came to respect and admire…she doesn't even exist."

"No, that's not true. Maybe I acted a lot more introverted than I really am, but it was still me."

"So at the Christmas party, you weren't nervous because you were around so many new people. You were nervous because they were all investigators."

Corie shamefully nodded. "Yeah."

"I don't understand. Why did you help me train the Quinx if you knew you were training them to kill ghouls?"

"…Because you asked me to."

Sasaki's brow furrowed.

"You cared about them, so that made me care about them too."

"If you really knew me before, why didn't you say anything?"

"…I can trust Kaneki…but I couldn't trust Sasaki yet."

"So instead you played this sick ruse to get close to me."

"What would you have done if I told you?"

Sasaki looked away from her. To be honest, he didn't really know what he would've done and he hated that. "You're a pretty sorry excuse for a ghoul."

Corie scoffed. "Okay, if you wanna go there, you're a pathetic excuse for an investigator."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm Lightning. I've watched almost all of your fights for the last year. I have seen you let ghouls escape, capture them when you should've killed them, and insist that some of them be kept for interrogation when they were about to be slaughtered by your comrades. You defend ghouls more than any other investigator. Because there is a part of you that remembers how hard you used to fight to protect them."

Sasaki glared at her and unconsciously put his hand to his chin. "I like my life now."

Corie noticed the motion and furrowed her brow a little.

"I don't care about my past. I care about where I am right now. I don't want to lose what I have or the people in my life."

"What about all of the people you left behind?"

"Like you?"

"Yes."

"This was all your decision. You can't blame me for you being in here."

"I don't. Look, do you think all of this was easy for me? You think it's easy to look at you every day and you don't know who I am to you?"

"I'm not that person anymore. And I never will be."

"That's not true. You're still Ken Kaneki and that won't change."

"My name is Haise Sasaki."

"Your name is _Kaneki_. Don't you understand? Kaneki is who you are. Sasaki is who they want you to be. Think about it. You were a half-ghoul with no memories of who you were. It is the perfect opportunity for the CCG to mold you to their way of thinking and turn you into their ultimate weapon against ghouls."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I don't?"

"No. You're partial to ghouls and it clouds your judgment."

"And you're not partial to the CCG?"

"Arima and Akira have become like the parents I never knew. They have been there for me more than anyone."

Corie gritted her teeth. She could put up with a lot, but that statement was crossing a line. No one had been there for him or cared about him more than her, and most certainly not the people who were only using him.

"Let me tell you something. Yes, I knew you as Ken Kaneki. And we were so close that we were like siblings. You put your trust in me almost from the moment you met me. And the more I learned about you and taught you, the stronger my desire to protect you became." Angry tears formed in her eyes that she tried to push back so as not to appear weak in front of him. "I was there the night you supposedly died. I held you in my arms, thinking that I was never going to see you again and hating myself for not getting there in time to stop what had happened. That night destroyed me. I didn't think I was ever going to be able to really live again. So when I found out you were alive, I thought things would go back to how they were if only a little. I put myself right in your line of sight as you were walking down the sidewalk. You looked right at me…and you had no idea who I was. That hurt worse than anything an investigator or another ghoul could do to me."

Sasaki's face softened a bit.

"You know…you were so ready to let go of all of us. But you didn't consider that we weren't ready to let go of you." She put her hand to the glass. "Come on, Kaneki. Don't you know me?"

Sasaki stared back at her earnest face, watching the tears slowly run down her cheeks.

"Isn't there any part of you that at least thinks I'm familiar?"

He didn't want to admit to her that there was indeed a small part of him that felt he knew her from before. As petty as it may be of him, he was still angry at her for lying to him so he didn't really feel like trying to make her feel better.

"Reina…" He let out a strained laugh. "No. Corie, I'm sorry, but I'm not Kaneki. No matter what you say, he's gone. I'm sorry that you're in here, but that was your own choice. I can't help you now. And frankly, I'm not sure I want to help you. You're on your own."

He started to reach for a button on the console.

"No, wait, Kaneki, please don't go!"

The mirror flipped back and she could only stare at her own tear-stained face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her hand slowly sliding down the glass. "I'm sorry I failed to protect you again."


	15. Interrogation

**_Corie=27_**

**_Sasaki=22_**

"Hello, Miss Masataka. Are you ready to tell me the real story?"

Corie looked at him hardly. "I already told you the real story. I know how it sounds, but I can't help it if you don't believe me. It's the truth."

"I'm sorry to hear you say that. Please, allow me."

He held out his hand for her.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Right now, I'm just trying to get answers."

"I've already given you answers."

"Please, Miss Masataka, let's not make this any harder than it need to be."

Corie sighed and hesitantly took Jiro's hand. As soon as she was in his grasp, he locked his fingers with hers and then rammed his knee into her elbow. The bone inside snapped and forced her arm into an extremely disturbing angle.

Corie screamed in pain and fell to the ground holding her arm.

Jiro looked down at her calmly. "I assure you that injury will pale in comparison to what I will do to you if you do not tell me the truth."

"But I…I did!" she rasped. "I swear!"

"Have it your way. Maybe while we wait for your bone to heal, you will come to your senses."

As he left the room, tears began to stream down Corie's cheeks from the pain. She wished she had seen it coming or maybe she could've made it hurt much less.

Taking several shallow breaths, she hit the protruding bone as hard as she could with her other hand to set it back in place so it could heal faster.

The agony was like nothing she had experienced before.

She tried to force herself to take slower breaths for fear that she would hyperventilate and pass out.

What else was Jiro going to do to her? Would it really be worse? What could she do to make him understand that everything she had done really had been to protect Sasaki?

For the first time since her capture, Corie's situation truly began to sink in.

And now she was terrified.

* * *

All Corie could do with her time was wait for Jiro to come back with his next plan as she focused on letting her bone heal. It took much longer than she would've liked, and even after all this time, it was still a little sore.

The door slammed open which made her flinch and two large men came over to her. They yanked her up off the bed before roughly pulling off her scrub-like clothing.

"Stop it!" she pleaded. "What are you doing?!"

After removing her shirt and pants and stripping the bed of all blankets and sheets, the men abruptly departed, leaving her standing in the middle of the room in only her bra and underwear.

She wasn't sure she had ever felt so degraded and humiliated. Were all prisoners in Cochlea treated this way?

The mirror disappeared to reveal who was on the other side.

Jiro smiled at her. "Are you ready to tell me the real reason you came into the CCG, Miss Masataka?"

Corie futilely attempted to cover her exposed chest. "I told you, I wanted to protect Haise Sasaki."

"All right."

The temperature in the room quickly began to decrease. Corie shivered and wrapped her arms around her nearly naked body.

Within minutes, it was around thirty degrees inside the room.

She sank down to the floor, shaking violently. "Wh-why are you d-doing this?"

"I need the truth, Miss Masataka. That's all. You tell me what I want to know, and all of this will stop."

"H-How would you know if it's the t-truth?"

"Oh, I'll know."

Corie wondered if Jiro knew she was telling the truth about protecting Sasaki but said he didn't believe her so that he could put her through all of this for his own enjoyment.

"Tell me what you learned while working here and what you planned to do with that information."

"I d-didn't learn anything. I swear. I chose to w-work in the administrative d-department because everything came through us f-first. I could know what S-Sasaki's missions were so I could be there to h-help him."

"So even now, you're still going to go with that story."

"Please."

He got up and left the temperature in the room below freezing.

Corie fell to the ground, her body continuing to shake in the frigid air. She slowly forced herself to crawl over to the window and put her hand to it.

"P-Please…help me…"

She had no idea if anyone was on the other side to hear her pleas. Even if there was, they probably wouldn't want to help her.

She tucked her arms back around herself and fell over onto her side on the cold, hard floor.

Exhausted from the extensive healing her body had recently done and the constant shaking, she soon could not help falling asleep. She almost hoped she didn't wake up.

Sasaki approached the room and looked inside through the one-way mirror. Despite everything Reina…no, Corie had put him through, he felt a little disconcerted at the sight of her stripped, slightly blue body lying on the floor, unconscious but still shivering.

He found himself hoping she wasn't dead.

He unlocked the door to the room and after stepping inside, he quickly put his hands over his arms. Even in his trench coat, this room was freezing. He couldn't imagine how it felt to Corie.

Avoiding looking at her out of respect for her modesty, he gently draped a thick blanket over her to warm her up and left a clean set of clothing on the bed for her to change into once she awoke.

He wasn't sure how he felt about this. This seemed like it was going a bit too far even for interrogation purposes, especially for someone who had been nothing but compliant so far.

Had Corie really not told the truth yet? Why would she go through all of this when it would be so easy to stop it? All she had to do was tell them the real reason she had chosen to infiltrate the CCG.

Was she perhaps trying to prolong her life, knowing that the moment she told the truth, they would kill her?

But this wasn't even really living. Was there some other purpose to her choosing to endure all of this? Or was it even her choice?

He thought about their previous conversation. This woman knew him before. When he was the mystery that was Ken Kaneki. He wondered if they had truly been as close as she'd said or if she was just trying to gain sympathy from him. After learning that she had been lying to him all this time, he didn't know what to believe anymore.

But could it be possible that she really had decided to join the CCG undercover simply to protect him?

Could Ken Kaneki truly have been the kind of person she would do this all for?

* * *

Corie stood up from the cot and went over to the mirror when it disappeared to show Sasaki on the other side.

She lightly put her hand to the glass. "Hi," she said softly.

"Why won't you just tell the truth?" he asked. "Then they would stop."

"Truth is relative."

"Why are you putting yourself through all of this? What do you have to gain?"

Corie didn't answer. It felt strange to talk to him like this. Not only as a prisoner, but also as herself. She had never talked to Sasaki as just Corie before. She wasn't sure what she could even say now.

She looked up and gave him a tired smile. "Did you know that your best friend is still alive?"

Sasaki looked at her in confusion. "My best friend?"

"He came to see me a little while ago. He's worried about you. Even if he doesn't show it."

His eyes cleared for a brief moment. "Hide…"

Suddenly, Sasaki gripped his head in pain and sank to the floor.

"Kaneki!" Corie exclaimed kneeling down to his level. "It's okay, I'm here! Focus only on me. Only on my voice. Forget about everything else. Don't focus on anything but my voice."

Sasaki weakly reached up and pushed a button on the console next to him. The mirror reappeared so that Corie could no longer see him.

Corie sighed and leaned back. What good would it be to remind him of who he was if he was only in pain every time he tried to remember? It was even worse now that she wasn't out there to help him should those memories return. She didn't want to think about what the other investigators, particularly Arima and Akira, would do if that happened and she wasn't there to protect him.

She didn't know which was worse: Kaneki not knowing who she was or Kaneki hating her.

* * *

Corie had never been aware of how far the CCG would go to interrogate someone, but unfortunately, she learned the answer.

There were no limits.

Her most recent interrogation method had involved her sitting tied to a chair in the middle of the room while Jiro had used various tools to break each one of her toes individually before proceeding to break the entire foot, laughing sadistically the entire time.

Every now and again, someone brought her a tray and set it on the floor before leaving her alone. The food Cochlea served to its prisoners must've had human flesh in it because it was tolerable to eat, but it didn't really taste all that great. She was greatly concerned about the amount of RC suppressant being given to her between staying in the 'special' interrogation room and the food. The suppressant levels inside her were already dangerously high and she worried what might happen to her if she didn't cut it off soon.

Not that it would matter if she never got out of here.

The bones in her foot slowly and painfully healed, and not even a full minute after she felt them return to normal, Jiro stepped back inside.

"Please…" she said tiredly. She wasn't sure she could do another session with him so soon after the last one. "I swear, I told you everything."

"I know you're holding back," he answered. "Just tell me all of the secrets you're hiding from me, and I'll stop."

"I don't have any more secrets."

Jiro picked up one of his tools.

"No, please," she whimpered. "Please, don't!"

He walked behind her and took one of her tied up hands. Then he proceeded to break all of her fingers while she cried out in pain.

"Are you ready to tell me?"

"I already told you!"

"If what you say is true, then why didn't you make contact with Investigator Sasaki as soon as you began working for the CCG?"

"Because he had already made a new life for himself. It wasn't right for me to come in and break down that life just because I missed him. But that didn't mean I couldn't protect him from a distance."

"A ghoul doesn't care about protecting investigators. Tell me what you've learned and you want to do with that information!"

"I wasn't here for information on anything except Sasaki's missions!"

This time, instead of breaking all her toes, he ripped each one clean off. Corie threw her head back and screamed in between wracking sobs.

Sasaki flinched as he watched everything unfold from behind the mirror.

His mind once again took him back to that black-and-white checkered room. But this time, it wasn't just that one menacing white-haired version of himself. It was a version of himself with black hair.

There was someone else in there. Someone very large and cruel.

He could hear his own screams intermingling with Corie's. Was this another memory trying to come back to him?

He put his hand to his head as it started to ache.

"Are you all right?" Arima asked beside him.

Sasaki moved his hand to his chin. "Yes, I'm fine." He looked back into the room. "But, sir, isn't this going too far? Article 13 prohibits causing more pain to a ghoul than necessary."

"The key word there is 'necessary'. Everything Mr. Kimura is doing is perfectly necessary because this is no ordinary ghoul. It's quite a feat that she was able to work at the CCG for so long without being detected. I feel rather sickened that I shared a table with her and thought nothing of her odd behavior."

Something inside Sasaki twinged at the word 'sickened'.

"I suppose in light of the holiday season, I had not looked as clearly as I should've. None of us did except for Investigator Urie. It's inexcusable."

"What would you have done if you knew?" he asked, repeating the question Corie had asked him.

After a long pause, Arima told him, "I'm not sure."

He may not have said the words, but Sasaki knew. He would've killed her.

"Right now, it is important that we know what she's learned while here so we can put a stop to any more possible infiltrations. And we'll have to do whatever it takes until she confesses."

Arima turned on his heel and left while Sasaki remained in front of the glass. Jiro finished up and untied Corie from the chair. She fell forward with another cry of pain that made Sasaki wince.

The older man exited the room, wiping his blood-covered hands on a cloth. "Fascinating, isn't it?" he smirked, an eerie glint in his eyes as he passed by the investigator. "The lengths a ghoul will go to protect their secrets?" He lightly fingered the small tool in his hand he had used to cause Corie so much pain. "I learned all these methods from a guy who used to work here."

"You don't think it's…too much?"

"Ghouls aren't like you and me. This is the only way I can get her to talk. It's unfortunate, I guess, but she's made her choice."

Sasaki looked back inside the room. Corie hadn't moved but he could still hear her whimpering as she sat inside a pool of her own blood.

Why did this feel so familiar to him? Was it another part of Ken Kaneki's life? Just what kind of life had he lived before?

Though he would never admit it to anyone including her, her previous words about the CCG molding him into what they wanted had resounded with him and ate away at his mind.

Could she be right? Had Arima and Akira worked together to make him into what the CCG needed him to be? Did the two people he cared about so dearly even really care about him as a person at all or did they only see him as a weapon to be used against what they considered to be the enemy?

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like Corie spoke the truth. Which utterly terrified him.

* * *

The longer she stayed a prisoner, the more the torture began to affect Corie's body and mind. She had lost track of how long she had been inside the Cochlea cell, but it had to have been at least a month by now, and the extreme methods of torture had all varied in intensity to try to get her to confess to why she had joined the CCG.

She had eventually confessed to changing some of the paperwork here and there that had come across her desk in order to keep the investigators off Lightning's track. It was only tiny things, like her hair color or her height, small details that could easily be passed over but would make it harder for people to figure out that Reina and Lightning were the same person.

Her wounds were taking a really long time to heal though she didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Jiro never touched her until everything healed, but then there was more time to worry about what he was going to do to her next.

Sasaki came to see her a few times, but their conversations rarely lasted more than a few minutes. She kept trying to explain to him that it was okay for his memories to come back and that he didn't have to fight it so hard, but he always insisted that he was better off the way he was. The last time he had said that, it had sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than her.

Jiro slowly stepped inside the room to see Corie strapped to the chair just as he had requested.

"Are you ready to tell me everything?"

"I already did," she said softly. "I didn't do anything to jeopardize any of the investigators. I only did what I needed to do in order to protect Haise Sasaki."

Jiro circled around the chair, reminding Corie of a hungry vulture. "Miss Masataka, are you familiar with the name Misono Karube?"

"No."

"Well, let me tell you about her. She is a very pretty young woman. She used to work at a café near the station." He smiled fondly. "She had the most beautiful smile. That girl could make anyone's day better just by smiling in their direction." His smile quickly faded. "Unfortunately, I haven't seen my niece smile in years. Do you know why that is?"

"No."

"Because one of your kind ruined her entire life. He gouged out her eyes and ate them, leaving her alone, blind, and in agony."

_I think Tsukiyama did something like that a while ago, _she thought to herself.

"Ever since that night, she has almost lost the will to live. Somehow, she's managed to go on, but she will never be the same."

He leaned in close to her which made Corie lean back in discomfort and fear. She had never seen him look so angry. This was beyond interrogating her. He was getting revenge on ghoul-kind through her.

"I'm going to do the same thing to you," he said lowly into her ear. "It's unfortunate you'll heal from it, but I am going to make you feel the same pain she did."

"But I didn't hurt her."

"You may as well have. Your kind are all the same."

He grasped her hair in his hand and wrenched her head back.

"No, please," Corie pleaded as she squirmed. "Please don't do this."

Jiro slipped one of his tools behind Corie's eye and yanked it out of her skull. She screamed at the top of her lungs at the unimaginable pain.

He gave her no time to recover as he did the same with the other eye. Corie was completely blind.

She gave ragged breaths and coughs, her throat hoarse from the screams.

Sasaki, having seen all he could take, turned away from behind the glass. "Sir, this is too much," he insisted. "You have to tell him to ease up on her!"

"I told you that any means must be used to get the truth from her, Sasaki," Arima replied calmly. "You may not agree with it, but this is what the CCG does. You better get used to the policy. We warned you that you can't show any compassion towards ghouls or it will be your undoing. Even ones who pretend to be your friend."

Jiro roughly untied Corie from the chair and allowed her to fall to the floor. She put her trembling hands to her empty bleeding eye sockets, still crying out in pain.

She knew the world could be terrifying when left completely in the dark. It was why she trained the Quinx to be able to fight when they couldn't see.

But this was different. She was confined to a small space where fighting was simply not possible even if she could pull out her kagune. She couldn't focus on anything except the darkness and the agonizing pain that had swallowed her whole. There was nothing like this kind of terror.

She heard the door open and jumped.

"It's okay," a soft, soothing voice said. "It's just me."

Corie slowly relaxed. She listened to Sasaki take slow steps towards her. When they stopped, he reached out and lightly touched her shoulder to show her that he was next to her before gently wrapping a bandage around her eyes.

Her fingers traveled up to touch the soft cloth. "…Thank you."

She heard him sigh. "I tried to get them to stop, or at least to take it down some. But…I don't have much authority here."

"It's okay. I appreciate you trying. But…I deserve this."

"What are you talking about? No one deserves to be put through all of this." He awkwardly looked away from her. "Especially not you."

It was a strange feeling to want to cry but being physically unable to do it. "There was a time…when you were taken and brutally tortured by another ghoul. And I wasn't able to get to you in time before he broke you. He didn't break you in the traditional sense. I mean, you were stronger than ever. But a person can only go through everything you did before fragments of their mind completely shatter."

So it was true. He had gone through something similar.

"I've always blamed myself for that. And this is my penance."

"What about _your_ mind?"

"I don't break so easily."

"Look…if Kaneki is anything like you make him out to be, I doubt he blamed you for what happened."

"You're right. You didn't. But it was still my fault."

Sasaki didn't know what he could say to her. He wasn't Kaneki anymore. He almost wished he was. Maybe Kaneki could say something to make her understand that she didn't have to go through this. Maybe Kaneki wouldn't have let her go through this at all. Maybe Kaneki would be able to free her from all of this pain. Maybe Kaneki…was just better.

"Will you…tell me a good memory of you and Kaneki?"

Corie's head lifted in surprise. "What?"

"It just seems like all I know from you is bad things that happened to me in the past. Weren't there any good moments too?"

"Of course there were."

"I want to know those."

Corie paused for a moment. "I'll only tell you if _you_ truly want to know. Don't ask just because you feel sorry for me or because you think you owe it to me."

Sasaki thought about his motives. If she told him about some things from his life as Kaneki, would that cause him to remember everything? What would he do if that ended up happening?

Then he realized he didn't care. As much as he hated it, more and more of his memories were trying to return every day, and so far, only the bad ones kept drifting to the surface of his mind. He wanted something good to think about.

"I want to know."

Corie gave him a small smile. "One of my favorite moments of you was shortly after you'd realized you'd become a half-ghoul. You walked in on me and a friend of mine eating." She let out a small laugh as she recalled the precise moment Kaneki had seen a very different side of her. "I don't think I'll ever forget the look on your face or the very unmanly scream you let out when you fell right over. You knew that we weren't going to hurt you or anything, so it's not like you were scared of us but seeing ghouls' exposed kakugan while they eat human flesh can be a bit frightening, especially for someone who's not used to it."

Sasaki smiled a little. By now, he had conditioned himself against the nastier sides of a ghoul's nature, but he could only imagine his reaction to seeing a ghoul eating for the very first time.

Corie smiled fondly. "And there was this one time…when you tried to teach me how to control my kagune better."

"Wait, _I_ was teaching _you_?"

"It's a long story. Anyway, we got to talking and I told you that I felt very comfortable around you. And you told me that you feel really safe around me. I think…that was the first time I started seeing you like a younger brother."

Sasaki wasn't sure how to process all of this. Could she really be telling the truth about her desire to protect him? Could they really have been as close as she said? What if this was all a trick just to gain his trust and sympathy so she could betray him again?

"Did you know that the hoodie I wore when I was Lightning used to be yours?"

"It was?"

"Yeah. It was kind of like my tribute to why I was fighting in the first place."

The more Corie told him, the more he knew that the time was coming. He wanted to know just who Ken Kaneki was and what had really happened to him.


	16. A Timely Entrance

**_Corie=25_**

**_Kaneki=19_**

Deep inside Dr. Kanou's hideout, Tsukiyama, Banjo's friends, and several ghouls who made up Aogiri Tree were in the middle of a fierce battle with various investigators who all needed Kanou for their own reasons.

Under normal circumstances, Aogiri Tree and Kaneki's group would never work together, but they had a common enemy in the investigators and therefore had no choice.

Unfortunately, one of the female investigators had released a small gas bomb containing RC suppressants which effectively rendered all of their kagunes completely unusable.

Akira smiled as she prepared to strike with her quinque. Now she had the upper hand. None of these filthy ghouls had a chance.

Suddenly, a ghoul landed directly in front of her and blocked her attack with her purple and black kagune.

Akira's eyes widened in surprise. Where had this ghoul come from?! She hadn't even _heard_ her approaching. It was as if she just materialized out of thin air!

The young woman stood up and Akira could see her mask clearly. It had a steampunk look with various brass buttons and knobs on the dark leather and only covered the lower half of her face so she could only see her gleaming black and red eyes.

She must've managed to somehow evade the RC suppressant gas.

No problem. Akira could wield her chimera quinque better than anyone, and a rinkaku was no challenge for both her and her quinque.

She whipped her weapon back and prepared for an attack, but the ghoul easily knocked the quinque out of her hand while barely moving her body.

Akira was stunned. She had never seen a ghoul use their kagune without moving their arms, legs, or torso and most certainly not that fast.

Before Akira even had a chance to register the ghoul's kagune coming towards her, she felt her feet leave the ground and she slammed into the opposite wall. She groaned in pain as her vision went fuzzy from the blow.

Corie looked behind the blonde female and for the briefest moment, she met eyes with the man standing behind her. Wasn't that the same investigator from the night she stormed Aogiri headquarters?

"_Mia cara_?" Tsukiyama said in surprise.

"Hinami told me what was going on," Corie explained lowly as she looked back at the other ghouls, an excited fire in her eyes even behind the kakugan. "I thought you could use my help. Looks like I was right."

"We would've been fine."

"Yeah, right."

"Who's this chick?" Naki asked with annoyance. "And why is she getting in my way? Move it."

Corie looked at Tsukiyama. "Wanna tell me who this is?"

"Monsieur Naki. A member of Aogiri Tree."

"And you're working with him, why?"

"Right place at the wrong time."

Corie quickly looked around her. "Wait a minute, where's Kaneki?"

"He went to find the good doctor while we held off the Doves."

Corie turned back to the investigators.

"You…" the man said harshly.

"So you are the person I saw that night," she answered. "I'm afraid I don't have the time to chat today."

Using the wall to propel her movements when necessary, she leapt around all three of the remaining investigators and quickly disarmed them.

She landed in her previous position and turned to the other ghouls. "That should give you guys enough of an advantage. I'll let you handle this now. I have to go find Kaneki."

Naki started giggling as he approached a downed Akira. "Guess I need to get my strength back then."

Corie raced down the long hallways, searching for the boy she hadn't seen in seven months. The entire place had a strange smell, like a combination of flesh and antiseptic. The sooner she could get everyone out of here, the better.

She could hear the sounds of a large fight happening somewhere not far from where she was. Her heart plummeted when she heard the clear sound of Kaneki screaming in pain.

Corie picked up her steps and tried to find the source of the fight.

Unfortunately, two young girls appeared in her path. One was dressed in all black while the other was dressed in all white. What shocked her was that only one of their eyes on each of them was a kakugan.

They were half-ghouls.

"We cannot let you pass," the black one said.

"Well, that's not up to you," Corie responded. "I have to find Kaneki, and believe me, you don't want to try to stop me."

"Kaneki? You mean our brother?" the white one asked.

"He's _my_ brother. Being half-ghouls like him means nothing. Did Kanou do this to you?"

"Yes, Father opened our eyes and made us better than we ever could've been as humans."

"He is _not_ your father. He doesn't care about anyone except himself."

They both released their kagunes and began attempting to strike her, but Corie easily maneuvered out of the way.

"I don't have time for this," she said.

She stood completely still and flinched her shoulders. Two of her tentacles aimed directly for their legs and snapped the right one on both of them completely in half.

Both girls screamed in pain and fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry," Corie apologized as she walked past them. "But _my_ brother needs me. Your wounds will heal in about ten minutes. And if you know what's good for you, you'll get out of here and away from Kanou."

She continued racing down the hallway, following the sounds of Kaneki's screams.

When she finally found the large chamber he was in, she couldn't believe what she saw.

Kaneki's kagune had unleashed…in addition to a second kagune that resembled a centipede. On his face, he wore a mask that looked like a long beak and his one kakugan eye gleamed darker than ever.

"Oh, Kaneki…" she said softly.

There was only one way he could have acquired that kagune and become a half-kakuja.

Just what had he been through in the time she was gone?

Kakujas were incredibly dangerous, especially when they weren't fully formed. For someone like Kaneki who already had little mental control over his regular kagune, he was completely deranged when his kakuja form took over.

She watched in horror as he began to devour an investigator's kakuja armor in a ghoulish frenzy. Just as she was about to step in, the same male investigator from before approached the scene which forced her to remain hidden for the moment.

Though Corie knew Kaneki wasn't actually eating the investigator, to the other one, it didn't appear that way at all.

He angrily activated his quinque and charged Kaneki. "_EYEPATCH_!"

Kaneki turned and easily deflected with attack with his kagune.

"Okay, Eyepatch," the investigator growled in between strikes. "I want answers and you're going to give them to me, got it? Why?! You had the chance to kill me, but you didn't! Why did you spare my life? You were crying that night. I saw tears streaming down your face. Or was that…_all a lie_?!"

He attacked again and cut off one of Kaneki's kagune tentacles.

Kaneki started gasping in pain both from that attack and from the kakuja consuming his mind. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't remember. I can't recall. I don't know."

"I thought I'd get some answers if I found you again. But it looks like the ghoul who saved my life is long gone!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Corie said to herself.

Having seen enough, she released her tentacles and jumped right in front of Kaneki to act as a shield. She then pushed the investigator out of the way and tossed him across the room with enough strength to knock him down but not enough to hurt him.

Then she turned and faced Kaneki, taking his head in her hands. "Look at me! Look at _me_! You don't want to do this! I know you! You don't want to kill anyone, especially not him!"

Kaneki's kagune tried to attack her, but she deflected it without even trying.

Amon looked up and tried to clear the stars from his eyes. _Is she…trying to talk him down_? he thought. _Is she…trying to keep him from killing me? Just moments ago, she was trying to kill me herself_!

Kaneki groaned in pain and held his head in his hands. "Centipedes…centipedes…in my ear! I don't want to! I don't want to kill anymore! 1,000 minus 7! What is it?!"

Corie couldn't do this here. Not with investigators all around them. His mind was slipping more and more with each passing second. She had to get him out of here.

She met eyes with the other investigator. Then the young woman hooked her arms under Kaneki's shoulders and jumped into the air to escape.

Amon slowly stood back up and looked in the direction they had gone. Was that woman truly the same one he had spoken to the night of the Aogiri Tree operation? Twice now, why hadn't she just killed him instead of disarming him? Was Eyepatch the one she had meant when she'd said she had someone to protect?

And her eyes…he had never seen a ghoul's eyes look like that before. Not angry but concerned and tired.

Who was that woman?

Corie landed back inside the tunnels with Kaneki still groaning and writhing in pain. She ripped off her mask so he could see her full face.

She wasn't really sure what she could to do calm him down. Maybe she just needed to get him to focus on one thing instead of everything that was currently bombarding his mind at once.

"Kaneki, look at me. Focus only on me, okay? Remember me. Remember who you really are. Remember why you are fighting."

Kaneki looked directly at her, but she could tell he couldn't fully process who he was seeing. It was still too much to focus on. She needed to get him to just focus on one small thing.

"I want you to just focus on my voice, okay? Only on my voice. Take some deep breaths and just focus on me and my voice. Okay? I'm right here. I'm here, Kaneki."

"Kaneki! Corie!"

Corie turned for a split-second to see Banjo, his friends, and Tsukiyama running towards them.

Then she heard a disgusting _squish _and felt pain in her abdomen. She let out a groan as she looked down.

Kaneki had stabbed directly through her with his fist.

Corie just smiled. "Payback for almost eating you that one time, huh?"

Behind her, Tsukiyama quietly whispered, "She did what now?"

Banjo looked at him angrily. "This is clearly not the time!"

Kaneki yanked his fist out of her body, and for the first time, she could see recognition slowly begin to return to his eyes.

Corie cried out in pain and fell to the floor.

"C…Corie?"

Corie held the large wound as she gasped for breath.

Kaneki's large kagune slowly dissolved and his eyes returned to normal. He sank down to his knees. "What…what have I done…?"

Corie put her hand to the side of his head. "Hey," she said gently. "You know, I think you and I are pretty similar. We have a huge desire to protect those we care about, and we don't think about the consequences or how it will affect us. When someone gets hurt, you blame yourself for it. I always rush in to help without thinking or caring about what will happen to me. We're constantly trying to shoulder everything all by ourselves. Maybe…the two of us should start relying on each other, and stop fighting alone. Maybe…true strength is depending on others to fight next to you rather than behind you."

Kaneki's trembling hands reached for her wound. "Corie…"

Corie cried out in pain again and held her stomach.

"Corie, I think I can help," Banjo said as he rushed to her side.

"H-How?"

The ghoul closed his eyes and concentrated. Thread-like pieces of kagune emerged from his shoulder blades and stretched until they strategically maneuvered over Corie's wound and began to fix it.

"Banjo," '2' sweatshirt said softly. "You accessed your kagune?"

"Eto found me and did a real number on me. Before I could even process what she'd done, I felt it come out of me and begin healing me. It's not perfect but it looks like I can do the same for someone else."

Corie smiled as his kagune disappeared. "Thanks. It still hurts, but it's much more tolerable now."

"It's good to see you again. You couldn't have picked a better time to come back."

Corie looked over at Kaneki who still looked devastated and horrified. "Hey. I'm okay. If that's what it takes to get you back, so be it. I promised that if you ever lost yourself, I'd get you back, right?"

"I'm so sorry, Corie."

"Kaneki."

Kaneki looked her in the eyes.

Corie gave him that same warm smile she always seemed to save just for him. "I'm really glad to see you again."

She got up and wrapped her arms around him. It felt so good to hug him after all this time.

Kaneki wondered if this was what she had felt like after she'd almost eaten him. It was no wonder she'd avoided him for four days. He felt so embarrassed and ashamed and he didn't want to even look at her.

But underneath that feeling, he wondered if he could trust her. After learning that Yoshimura was hiding even more from him, he had no idea if Corie knew everything as well or if she was just as in the dark as he was. Could it be that she was hiding a lot from him too?

Somehow, feeling her arms around him and her warm embrace, he couldn't find it within him to care. Maybe she was hiding things from him, but everything she'd ever done had been for his own good. There was a reason she had become like a sister to him.

His arms slowly went around her waist. "I missed you…"

* * *

Corie knocked on the door to Kaneki's room and slowly opened it. "Can I come in?"

Kaneki nodded from his position on the bed.

"I know how you're feeling. But I'm not mad."

"Yeah, I know," he said softly.

"It doesn't even hurt anymore. If anything, at least we're even now."

"It's just…it's not the first time I've hurt you like that. What if I end up hurting you every single time I lose myself like that?"

Corie sat down next to him on the bed. "Look, Kaneki, I had no idea things were getting so difficult for you. Why didn't you call me? I told you that if you ever needed me, I would come running."

"It…it was just better for me to handle it so that you wouldn't have to worry or get hurt anymore. No one would have to get hurt anymore."

"That's a huge burden to put on yourself. And you're clearly wearing yourself down trying to do that. How much longer do you think you can keep going like this?"

"I…I don't know."

"It's okay to lean on other people. It's okay to lean on me. That's what big sisters are for, right?"

Kaneki laughed lightly. "Did you learn any more techniques while you traveled again?"

"Yeah, a couple. I can show them to you when we start training again."

"I think I need your training now more than ever."

"How come?"

"I really want to get that precision technique down. And you are by far the hardest teacher I've ever had. Not even Tsukiyama tests me as much as you did."

Corie laughed. "I am going to take that as a compliment."

Kaneki's face darkened a little. "Corie…what do you know about Yoshimura…before he was the manager of Anteiku?"

Corie lost her smile. "I'm not sure. He's never really told me about his own life. To be fair though, I never really gave him a chance. He took me in after my parents died and as a young kid, his main focus was trying to make sure I was able to keep living after something like that. And then, I moved to the States for school and kept traveling, so…"

Kaneki took a breath. He was so relieved to hear that. If he had known that Corie was keeping as many things from him as the manager was, he wouldn't know how to handle that level of betrayal from someone he admired so much.

She lightly put her hand on his arm. "Everyone's pretty worried about you. You've holed yourself up in here for a couple days now. You know…that author you really like is doing a signing today at the bookstore. Why don't you take Hinami? It would do you both good to get out for a little while."

Kaneki's smile returned. "I think that's a good idea. Will you come too?"

Corie's eyebrows rose in surprise. "How come?"

The boy's face reddened as he looked away from her. "I haven't seen you in over six months, and you know, I've missed hanging out with you."

Touched, Corie smiled. "I'd love to come."

So Corie and Kaneki retrieved Hinami from downstairs and they all started heading down to the bookstore.

"It's been a while since we've gone out together," Hinami remarked.

"It has been," Kaneki replied.

"Kaneki?"

"Hm?"

"Can I…hold your hand? There's gonna be a lot of people, so…"

Kaneki smiled warmly and held his hand out for her to take. Corie smiled at the affectionate action. If she saw Kaneki as a younger brother, Hinami definitely saw him as an older brother and she thought that was absolutely adorable.

They finally reached the bookstore where a large crowd of people had gathered to meet Sen Takatsuki.

"Everybody has the same book," Hinami noticed. "That's so weird."

"It is," Kaneki added. He noticed the table at the front of the line was still empty. "Guess it hasn't started yet. I guess it's running late."

"What's Takatsuki like?"

"I've only read her interviews, but she's a pretty lady. There are some fans that like her personally more than her work. I wish they actually read her books."

A woman with wild and untamed green hair rushed past them mumbling, "I am so late! Ugh, my back's all sore!" She finally reached the front table and took a seat before giving the crowd an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I overslept."

Sen Takatsuki looked pretty much like the stereotypical writer. She wore an oversized sweater and a long skirt with her hair running wild around her perfectly shaped face. Corie was surprised to see that she wasn't older than herself. It was impressive she was so popular already at such a young age.

She seemed to enjoy herself at the signing because she happily took pictures with her fans despite her manager trying to tell people that pictures weren't allowed.

Finally, it was their turn. Hinami shyly approached the desk and put down her copy of one of Takatsuki's books.

"What a cute couple," the young woman remarked upon seeing Hinami and Kaneki together. "But I also smell a scent of danger too."

"We're not a couple," Kaneki awkwardly smiled.

The writer rested her chin on the back of her hands. "Who should I make it out to?"

"Fue…Hinami," Hinami answered nervously.

"'Fuehinami'?"

"N-no, Hinami!"

"Hinami, okay. How old are you, Hinami?"

"Um…14."

"Oh, my. I'm surprised I have such a young fan. That's a cute hairpin."

"It's because my mother used to read it."

"Your mother!" She laughed as she looked over at Kaneki. "What about the punky guy? What's your name?"

"Oh. How about…Kanaki. 'Kana' as in Friday and 'Ki' as in Thursday."

Takatsuki scribbled the name down onto the book page. "'To Kanaki', okay. Osamu Dazai's from _Kanagimachi_ with the same characters, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is."

"Nice."

"Do you dye your hair?"

"It's natural."

"Natural?!"

"Yeah…"

"How long have you been reading my stuff?"

"Since _Dear Kafka_. I've read everything. Your short stories and all your novels. The warden Kimio Ohta in your new book, _The Hanged Man's MacGuffin_, he's the uncle of Detective Tanizaki in _Salt and Opium_, right?"

"Ooh, I'm surprised you figured that out. Not bad."

"I thought, 'Wait a minute. Looking back at their conversation and family structure, their timelines matched up'."

Hinami looked just as confused as Corie did, but at least Hinami had read some of Takatsuki's books. Corie was completely in the dark amongst all these die-hard fans.

Still, it was nice to see Kaneki excited about something normal for once.

Takatsuki smiled up at Corie. "And what's your name, sweetie?"

Corie awkwardly shook her hands. "Oh, no, I'm just tagging along. These guys are the huge fans. I unfortunately don't have a lot of time for reading."

The young writer laughed lightly. "Well, let me take this time to recommend _The Hanged Man's MacGuffin _and _Dear Kafka_. But I may be a little biased."

"Sen, we have people waiting," her manager told her with a nervous smile.

"Okay. See you later, Hinami. You little cutie pie. And it was nice to meet you both, Kaneki and…"

"Oh, Corie!" Corie told her.

"Corie. Thank you for coming out."

"Thank you so much," Kaneki smiled.

"Come by again!"

The three of them walked away from the signing and headed out of the bookstore.

"That was cool meeting her!" Hinami gushed. She smiled up at Kaneki warmly. "Haven't seen you that happy in a long time."

Kaneki laughed. "What? Was I?"

Corie smiled at him. It was true. That was the happiest she'd seen him since she'd met him. She wished she could see him this happy much more often.

* * *

Corie decided to stay the night at Kaneki's hideout to catch up with Hinami and the rest of the group.

She ended up staying awake later than everyone else since she wanted to practice some of her techniques before going to sleep.

Just as she was about to turn in, she heard whimpers and cries of pain coming from down the hall. Corie exited the room and slowly followed the noises.

They were coming from Kaneki's room.

"Kaneki," she called softly as she knocked on the door.

When the only response was another whimper, she opened the door and stepped inside. Kaneki's head shined with sweat as he tossed his head back and forth in pain.

"Please, stop," he cried.

Corie quickly sat up him and held him close. "It's okay, you're not alone. I'm here. You're okay, I promise. I'm here. I'm here."

Kaneki awoke in her arms and took heaving breaths.

Corie rubbed comforting circles onto his back as he came out of the nightmare. "You're not alone. I'm here."

Kaneki had been suffering from nightmares for months. But it was the first time he had ever woken up in someone's protective embrace and it made all the difference.

He felt as if nothing bad could happen as long as he was inside Corie's arms.

After trying to shoulder all of his and everyone else's pain, it felt as if he finally had someone to share his burden if only for a minute.

* * *

"Corie?"

Corie turned from her place at the bar in Anteiku. "Hide? Hey, it's been a while!"

Hide laughed and came to sit next to her. "Where have you been this time?"

"I spent some time in Singapore and I just got back from New Zealand."

"Man, that's so cool. I wish I could travel the world like you. You're still going by yourself?"

"Yep."

"Ugh, you're killing me! You really won't take me with you?"

"Don't you have a life here that you need to worry about?"

"I guess. But even still, I think you should consider bringing someone along with you."

"Maybe someday. For now, I need to focus on my own needs before worrying about someone else. Anyway, what have you been up to since I left?"

"Oh, still taking classes at Kami. I got a part-time job as a staff assistant at the CCG so that's going pretty well for me."

Corie made sure her expression didn't change, but she couldn't stop her heart from sinking.

Hide at the CCG? Working against ghouls? Working unknowingly against…his best friend?

"That's good," she smiled.

"You haven't happened to see Kaneki, have you?"

Corie's face darkened. Technically, Kaneki was identified as missing by everyone at the university and at Anteiku. "Yeah, I heard he'd gone missing around the same time I left Japan. I was hoping I could track him down when I came back."

"It's been hard taking all these tough classes without him. He was the one who helped me not die of boredom in the lecture courses."

"You really miss him, huh?"

"Yeah. You seem to have gotten pretty close with him. You must be pretty worried too."

"I am."

"Did you ever manage to figure out his tell?"

"What do you mean?"

"When Kaneki tries to lie, he puts his hand to his chin like this," Hide said as he demonstrated the gesture. "I love the guy, but he's the worst liar I ever met."

Corie smiled a little. "That's not necessarily a bad trait to have. Just as long as he doesn't have to keep a secret about a surprise party."

"I just hope he's okay…wherever he is."

"Yeah. Me too."


	17. Reo

**_Corie=25_**

**_Kaneki=19_**

Corie passed by a room on the upper floor of Anteiku when she heard the clear sound of her uncle and Kaneki's voices inside.

"I'll get straight to the point," Kaneki said. "Is the leader of Aogiri Tree, the One-Eyed King…no, the One-Eyed Owl, your child?"

Corie furrowed her brow. She hadn't known anything about her uncle having children or even having a significant other. She realized that she hadn't ever asked about his past, but was it possible that he was hiding something that huge from her?

"Is that what you want to know?" Mr. Yoshimura asked.

"That's one of many things. I also want to know more about Aogiri Tree. And how you're connected to them."

There was a very long pause and Corie wasn't sure he was going to answer.

Then finally, she heard him begin his story. As he talked, she sank down beside the door to listen in on who her uncle really was.

"A long time ago, there was a ghoul called Kuzen. He, like many other ghouls, consumed humans and killed and slaughtered his own kind to survive. Though he cursed his fate, he remained strong, endured solitude. Rumors of the ghoul Kuzen spread around. Eventually, certain ghouls learned of his existence. Kuzen made the choice to work for them. Now a part of their organization, Kuzen worked as a cleaner. He killed humans, members of rival organizations, and even ghouls. He literally cleaned. He now had food, clothing, and shelter. Of those, no longer having the problem of feeding was his biggest gain. Although he now had a stable life, Kuzen was alone as always. The organization could not be a home to him. One day, Kuzen met a human at an old café."

Yoshimura paused. He could still remember everything about her. The color of her eyes, the way she cut her hair, even the dress she wore the first time he ever saw her.

_"__You always sit there. Always coffee with no sugar, right?"_

"Ukina," he continued. "An inquisitive woman with a unique sensibility. It was a strange experience for him. He was always alone and never opened up to anybody, but strangely, he did with her. But…being as observant as she was, she soon found out what Kuzen was. Killing her crossed his mind. But…"

He would never forget those words for as long as he lived: _"Why'd you keep this from me, Kuzen? It doesn't change how I feel."_

"She accepted who he was. He too accepted her."

Corie couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was glaringly obvious that Yoshimura was talking about himself despite the story being in third person. She had always known that he was indeed the One-Eyed Owl, or at least one of them, but she had never known why he adopted that persona or anything else about his life before she went to live with him.

She…had an aunt too?

"The time came when Ukina became pregnant with his child. Kuzen was honest with her. That a ghoul and a human can't have children together. He thought she would give up. But instead…she did the unthinkable to nourish the unborn child."

Corie put her hand to her mouth. It was impossible for a human and a ghoul to have a child because if the mother was a ghoul, her stomach would think that the fetus was food and would consume it. If the mother was human, the fetus would not get the proper nutrients it needed in order to grow.

But her aunt…a human woman…must've done the only thing she could. She had chosen to eat human flesh in order to give birth to her baby. She must've been…such a strong woman. Corie wished she could've met her.

"When the child was born, it was the happiest day of their lives. However, the new family's happiness would be short-lived. A pocketbook caught his eye. It was vital information about the organization Kuzen belonged to. She was a journalist covering the organization. They met not knowing each other's circumstances. Eventually, the organization too realized who she was. And discovered her relationship with him as well."

Even after all this time, the pain he had felt was just as strong as it had been then, and he was sure he would never be able to forgive himself for what he had done.

"The organization was too powerful. Not even Kuzen could resist it on his own."

_"__Settle it, Kuzen."_

"There was no other choice."

_"__I'm worried about you being alone."_

"He could not understand her even at the end. But he loved her deeply. That was Kuzen's last job as a cleaner. The only hope left for him was their only child. A child born between a human and a ghoul. Unable to completely cut ties with the organization, he left the child in the care of the 24th ward, leaving the child with only their notebook."

_Handing the baby to another ghoul._

_Her tiny little hand grasping his much larger finger._

_Tears streaming down his face as every muscle in him ached when he slowly forced himself to pull away from his beautiful baby girl._

"Time passed. Kuzen learned about a ghoul known as the One-Eyed Owl. The ghoul despised the world. He knew right away it was his child. The organization would eventually find out. The child was badly wounded from assaulting the CCG. If the organization were to pursue the child as well…And so, Kuzen took the place of the One-Eyed Owl. That was ten years ago."

There was a long silence in the room. Corie sat outside, wondering how to process everything she'd just heard.

She had had an aunt…and she had a cousin? A cousin who was a half-ghoul? Who was the infamous One-Eyed Owl? Who was the head of Aogiri Tree?

Why…why hadn't he ever told her any of this?

Corie knew the answer to that. She hadn't ever given him the chance.

She hated that. Why hadn't she ever asked? Why hadn't she found out more about him? Why had she been so focused on herself and her own pain that she had never noticed how much of his own he was shouldering?

"You're Kuzen?" Kaneki finally confirmed.

"Kaneki, I once told you that you are the only existence that has a place in both worlds. The thing you are trying to get rid of is something that makes up half of you. You still have a choice. Think as both a person and a ghoul. Think long and hard. I want you to save those who are alone, and eventually, my child too."

Kaneki sighed. At first, he had tried to deny his ghoul side and live as he always had. Lately, he had been trying to beat out his human side and become full ghoul. Both were impossible options. He was both human and ghoul. That was why he was the bridge between the two worlds. Taking out one or the other would just put everything right back where they'd started.

"Kaneki," Yoshimura said gently. "Have you ever wondered why Corie took to you so quickly or why she's so protective of you?"

Kaneki looked up at the old man. He wasn't sure what had caused such a dramatic shift in the conversation, but he was curious as to where he was headed with this.

"Let me show you something."

Yoshimura dug through his possessions and pulled out an old photo that he handed to the boy.

Kaneki looked at the picture in surprise. Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, in café uniforms stood side-by-side, laughing. The girl was obviously a younger version of Corie, but he didn't know who the other person was. He was shocked to see that the young boy looked very similar to him only a few years back.

Outside, Corie's heart began to ache. It was time for Kaneki to learn the truth about her and the nature of their relationship.

"Who is this?" Kaneki asked Yoshimura.

"That is Reo. Corie's brother."

"Corie has a brother?"

"…_Had_ a brother."

"What happened to him?"

"He was killed. In a fight with another ghoul."

She had lost both of her parents _and_ a brother? Kaneki wondered how on earth that girl could still find a way to smile every day.

"Corie was 13 years old when her parents were killed by investigators. Reo was only 10. Their mother, my sister, had previously told me that if anything happened to her and her husband, I would have to look after her children. She knew of my less-than-admirable connections, and when I expressed concern about that, she told me I would just have to figure it out."

Corie smiled. That sounded like her mother.

"When they passed, I had not had any contact with her or her family in many years due to being involved with the organization. I had never even met my niece and nephew prior to then. But then one day…two young children showed up at my door, weary and crying."

_"__Mama said you were our uncle and we should go to you if anything happened to them. Mom and Dad were killed by investigators. Will you…help us? Please?"_

"Despite knowing the dangers of taking them in, I could not stand there and allow two young children with no home and no family to fight for themselves. I definitely could never do that to my sister. While I allowed them to live with me, I told them that they had to stay at Anteiku and that as few people as possible know about my relation to them. I helped them get their lives back on track as they went through school and soon, both of them became servers in the coffee shop.

"The two of them were inseparable. They would continually train together and they always had each other's backs when they had to fight. Unfortunately, when Corie was 18 and Reo was 15, they accidentally stumbled upon another ghoul's feeding ground. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that some ghouls are very possessive about where they feed. This ghoul happened to be one of the worst."

* * *

_"__Hey, you kids!"_

_Corie turned to the direction of the voice and saw an angry ghoul with his kakugan and kagune exposed._

_"__Thought ya could come into _my_ territory, did ya?!"_

_"__Sorry, we were just heading home," Corie said quickly. "We'll get out of your way."_

_"_No one_ comes into my territory without getting punished!"_

_"__We didn't know it was your territory! We're not even here to eat!"_

_"__You think that matters?! If I let ya go now, you might come back and try to take what's mine!"_

_"__We won't be back, I swear!"_

_The ghoul charged towards her. Corie pushed Reo behind her and released her purple and black tentacles. She attempted to fight with the other ghoul, but he was much stronger and way more powerful than she was. It was clear he was used to getting in fights all the time, so it didn't take long for him to overpower her._

_"__Corie!" Reo cried._

_"__Run!" she yelled, blood beginning to pool around her._

_"__I'm not leaving you!"_

_Reo released his blue wing-like kagune and fired several projectiles at the other ghoul._

_"__No, you have to run!" Corie begged. "Get out of here!"_

_Her brother stood protectively in front of her, shielding her from the other ghoul's attacks._

_"__Nice try, kid."_

_The ghoul's long black bikaku kagune destroyed the projectiles and sliced through Reo's abdomen before Reo even had a chance to scream._

_"_NO_!" Corie screamed in horror._

_Reo collapsed onto the ground, blood spilling everywhere._

_Corie weakly crawled over to him. "Reo! Please don't leave me! Please!"_

_"__I'm so sorry, sis. It looks like I'm gonna see Mom and Dad a little sooner than I had planned."_

_"__No! I…I don't know how to live without you! I…I can't. Don't leave me alone…"_

_"__You'll be okay, I know it. Just promise me that you'll move on and you'll live. For me. Okay?"_

_Reo's eyes closed and his body stilled._

_Corie screamed and her kagune went wild behind her. She cradled her lifeless brother in her arms, crying over him._

_The ghoul tried to attack her, but her tentacles flew all over the place too fast for even him to dodge._

_While she continued to sob over her brother, her kagune impaled the other ghoul in four different places._

_He too fell to the ground dead._

_Corie's tear-stained face looked over at the ghoul. She wasn't sure what had happened or how she had done it. She hadn't even been focusing on her kagune at all. It was almost as if it had a mind of its own._

_Her grief giving her a surge of adrenaline, Corie picked up her brother's body and rushed back to Anteiku._

_"__Uncle Yoshimura!" she screamed as she burst inside the closed café. "Please help me!"_

_Yoshimura came into the room and hurried over to his niece and nephew. "What happened?" he asked as he helped her lay Reo down onto the floor._

_Blood quickly tainted the café floor from both Corie's and Reo's wounds._

_"__Another ghoul," she choked out. "He…he said we invaded his territory and he fought us. When he beat me, Reo tried to defend me, but the ghoul…he killed him! I…I couldn't protect him. I was supposed to protect him. I'm his big sister."_

_"__Where's the other ghoul now?"_

_"__He's…he's dead. My…my kagune killed him. But…but I wasn't even trying. And my…my kagune split into four pieces. I've never done that before."_

_Yoshimura put his hand to the side of her face and gently wiped away one of her tears. "I'm so sorry, my dear. I'm sorry I wasn't there."_

_Corie once again cradled her brother, as if holding him in her arms would bring him back to life._

_But no matter what she did or how tightly she held him, the blood kept spilling onto the floor and Reo remained dead._

* * *

"I always blamed myself for not protecting them," Yoshimura explained. "Corie was depressed for weeks after that. She didn't eat anything and she never left her room above the coffee shop. I didn't know what to do for her. She had been through so much and lost everyone dear to her, and I knew there was nothing at all that could ever ease the pain she was feeling. It had been so long since I had had any family to look after, and I hadn't realized how painful it was to feel so powerless."

Kaneki had no idea Corie had been through something so traumatic. Was the sheer likeness between him and her brother the main reason why she'd cared about him so much?

"Finally, one day, she came down the stairs for the first time in nearly a month."

* * *

_"__Corie, I'm glad to see you up and about," Yoshimura said to her. "Would you like some coffee?"_

_Corie looked back at him blankly as if her mind wasn't entirely present. "I want to go on a hunt," she told him._

_Yoshimura was surprised, but he answered, "Take Yomo with you."_

_She nodded and went back upstairs to dress into some suitable clothing._

_That night, she and Yomo hopped from rooftop to rooftop, searching for easy prey for Corie to feast on. They could've gone to the cliff, but Corie insisted that she wanted a real hunt._

_She watched as a man in an alley came up behind a woman and beat her mercilessly before running off with her bag._

_"__I want him," Corie told Yomo._

_"__Maybe you should find someone a little less built."_

_"__No, I want him."_

_"__All right, I'll back you up."_

_"__I don't need help."_

_"__Corie—"_

_"__I _don't _need help."_

_Before Yomo could protest further, Corie began following the man. The two of them waited until he was completely secluded, then __Corie jumped down from the rooftop and landed directly in front of him._

_"__Geez, kid, you scared me," the man said roughly. "Get out of my way."_

_"__You took something that doesn't belong to you," Corie growled._

_"__Oh, yeah? And what are going to do about it?"_

_Corie looked up, allowing the man to see her glowing kakugan eyes. "I'm hungry."_

_Realizing the position he was in, the man started to back away._

_Before he had a chance to run, Corie bounded up to him and pounced on him, knocking him to the ground._

_"__Get off me!" the man pleaded. "I promise I won't tell anyone! Come on, just let me go!"_

_"__Why is _trash_ like you still alive while my brother is dead?!"_

_"__Look, I'm sorry! I'll return the bag, okay?!"_

_With a furious roar, Corie clawed at the man's chest, ripping away chunks of his flesh. He screamed in agony as she continued to claw at him. Once he had silenced, she opened her mouth wide and bit a huge chunk of flesh out of his shoulder. Then she ripped off more and more flesh with her teeth with a viciousness Yomo had never seen._

_"__Corie," he said calmly._

_Corie whipped around to face him, blood and gore dripping from her mouth and covering the entire front of her body._

_The fire in her eyes slowly began to fade, and she realized just how brutal she had been to her prey. Ghouls at Anteiku generally tried to make their meals' deaths as painless as they possibly could, but Corie had done the complete opposite. What would Reo say?_

_Tears filled her eyes and she began to sob._

_Yomo knelt down beside her and took her into his arms. Aware of the pain of losing a sibling, he said nothing. He just allowed her to cry onto his chest for both herself and the brother she had lost._

* * *

_Corie walked up to her uncle and handed him a completed form._

_"__What's this?" he asked._

_"__I want to attend university in America."_

_Yoshimura looked at the form. It was an application to head overseas for a degree from a college in the States. He gave her a small smile. "I think that's a great idea."_

_He was fully aware that Japan was the last place she needed to be right now. Maybe putting a lot of space between her and the painful memories would prove helpful for her and would allow her to somewhat move on._

* * *

"I never saw her and I barely spoke with her until she returned to Japan over summer break two years later," Yoshimura told Kaneki. "It was night and day. She was smiling again and she looked so much healthier. She told me she'd managed to find a couple other ghouls at her university and had become good friends with both of them. They regularly got together to train and taught each other different techniques. She never got over losing Reo, but she was able to put it behind her and live again."

Kaneki sighed. He wasn't sure what to think about everything Yoshimura had told him so far. What was he going to say when he saw Corie again?

"I'm sure you've noticed that you bear a striking resemblance to him. On the night she first saw you when was Rize attacking you and later when you were abducted by Aogiri Tree, she felt as if history was repeating itself and it's why she has always tried so desperately to save you whenever you are in trouble."

Kaneki wondered if she would've helped him the night Rize attacked him if he didn't look like Reo. Or if she would've helped him at all after that.

Corie realized that tears had begun to roll down her cheeks at recalling the night her brother died. She quickly moved away from the door before Kaneki caught her eavesdropping or, worse, saw her crying again.

She was nervous. She didn't know what Kaneki thought of her now or how he felt upon hearing everything about her and her uncle. What if he hated her now for keeping all of that from him? What would she do then?

After Kaneki left and the café closed, Corie came down and began helping her uncle sweep and clean the place.

"Why didn't you tell me I had an aunt and a cousin?" she asked softly.

Yoshimura looked up at her from behind the counter, seemingly unsurprised that she had overheard his previous conversation. "I had many reasons to keep it from you, Corie. The biggest one being that I had to protect you and your brother."

"How does keeping something like that from us protect us?"

"For one thing, I knew that if you were aware of her existence, you would try to track her down. But my child has grown to hate the world, something I take full responsibility for. If she knew that I had taken you in and abandoned her, she would not hesitate to kill you. She's the head of Aogiri Tree. I don't have to tell you what that means."

"I could've talked to her. We're family."

"Family has no meaning to her, Corie. You can't just talk to the head of Aogiri Tree and expect things to work themselves out."

"How do you know all this if you've never even met her?!"

"A parent knows these things. You must understand that if you were to find her, it would put you in danger from the organization as well."

Corie sighed. She knew he was right, but it didn't mean she liked it.

"Corie, what you heard was everything about my past. Now that you're older and much stronger, I can only hope that one day, you too will be able to save my daughter from her life of hatred and help her to live."

* * *

The next day, Corie traveled back to the headquarters Kaneki had made for himself and his team and decided to slip in through the window to his room.

"You're right, this is faster," she smirked.

Kaneki smiled a little when he saw who'd come in.

She looked at him seriously. "I know my uncle told you about my brother. I never told you about him because…I didn't want you to think that I was trying to turn you into him. But you don't look like him anymore, and…that's part of the reason why I was gone for so long. After what happened that night at Aogiri headquarters, I had to make sure that I cared about you because you're you, not because you look like my brother."

Kaneki took a deep breath. "And what did you decide?"

Corie gave him a small smile. "I came back, didn't I? I know it took me way too long and I should've come back long before now. But…yes, you look like him, or at least you used to, and yeah, helping you has given me a sense of closure, but…you're Ken Kaneki before anything else. You resembling Reo has absolutely nothing to do with me considering you to be like my younger brother. You did that for me all on your own. Besides, even if you did still look like him, your personalities could not be more different."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. He absolutely hated reading and wouldn't do it if his life was at stake. He never wanted to train until I forced him. He was incredibly stubborn. And he never hesitated to get into fights if the chance was there." She smiled fondly. "But he always looked out for me. Right to the very end."

"Corie, I need to ask you something."

"Okay."

"Did you know the details of my transplant and who Dr. Kanou was?"

"I had my suspicions, but I wasn't sure. Nothing like this has ever happened, so no one could be sure of what exactly had happened in that operating room."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you over something I wasn't even sure about. You were still adjusting to the ghoul life, and tossing one more thing onto your plate would just stress you out even more."

He looked up at her seriously. "There's one more thing I want to know. If I didn't look like your brother, would you still have tried to save me from Rize?"

Corie sighed deeply. "…I don't know. I'd like to say yes, but I don't know if that's true. That being said…that night you came to Anteiku looking for help, I can say with full confidence that I would've said and done the exact same thing then whether you looked like him or not."

A part of Kaneki wondered if she was lying, but he didn't think she was. The night he'd come to Anteiku, she had quickly stopped Touka from verbally assaulting him and had gently asked if he was okay all before she ever saw his face. She hadn't even realized he was the same person she'd tried to save from Rize until she had gotten a good look at him. She'd been willing to help him because he had been in trouble. That was the kind of person she was.

Corie awkwardly looked away from him. "I'm…I'm sorry I kept Reo from you. And everything regarding your transplant. If…that changes your opinion of me, I'll understand."

Kaneki paused for a brief moment. "I…I've been on my own ever since I was little. I barely remember my dad and my mom died when I was young. My aunt and her family never cared about me, and as soon as I could, I got a place to myself and lived alone. So this last year…it's felt really nice to have a big sister looking out for me."


	18. Broken

**_Corie=27_**

**_Sasaki=22_**

_"__What's 1000 minus 7?" Yamori asked lowly._

_It was the fourth day of Kaneki's torture and he wasn't sure how much longer he could endure this. It would be one thing if there was some end in sight, but he was getting tortured just for Yamori's pleasure. There was no hope of it ever stopping._

_"__Please," he begged. "Please, don't!"_

_Yamori approached him with his large pliers._

_Suddenly, the door burst open causing metal shards to fly in every direction._

_"__I found you," a familiar voice bit out._

_"__C…Corie?" Kaneki gasped. He couldn't see her since the chair was positioned away from the door, but he would recognize her voice anywhere._

_"__Get. Away. From him."_

_Yamori smiled sadistically. "You must be pretty skilled to make it all the way up here by yourself. I'd like to see how much it takes to break you. Maybe once I'm done with this kid, I can have my fun with you."_

_"__I said _get away from him_."_

_Yamori dropped his pliers and exposed his spiked kagune. "I guess I can take a break for a second." He roughly patted the side of Kaneki's head. "Hold tight for me, okay, kid? This won't take long."_

_Kaneki's head drooped against his chest. After everything he'd been through, he was too weak to look up and see what was happening. He could hear Corie and Yamori's fight stretching all the way around the chamber, but he couldn't tell who was winning._

_The fight ended with a loud _squelch_._

_This was it. Corie was dead, and now Yamori was going to continue what he had started._

_But then he felt the chains digging into his wrists and ankles loosen._

_"__Kaneki, it's okay, I'm here!" Corie said urgently. "I'm here!"_

_Corie wasn't dead._

_She was alive and she was freeing him._

_He was free. He wasn't Yamori's captive anymore. He wasn't going to be tortured again._

_The chains fell away from the raw skin and he fell forward into her awaiting arms._

_"__I'm here!" she told him as she put her arms around him protectively._

_He thought he could feel small tears drop onto his shoulder. Maybe it was his tears dropping onto her shoulder._

_"__It's over. It's all over. You're going to be okay. I'm here."_

* * *

Corie's eyes opened and she found herself staring up at a plain white ceiling in the claustrophobia-inducing cell.

She tossed her arm across her face and sighed heavily.

For the last two years, but especially in the last couple of months, she had had repeated dreams of rescuing Kaneki from Yamori's torture chamber before the ghoul could completely break him. Sometimes, she dreamt she rescued him back at the café before he could be abducted, sometimes she dreamt she had arrived in time to stop him from fighting Arima, sometimes it went all the way back to her rescuing him from Rize.

But each time, she eventually had to wake up to remember that she had never managed to rescue him at all. She had failed each and every time. All she could ever do was fail him.

She turned onto her side, holding her stomach.

Everything hurt. Her body, her mind, her soul, everything. She wasn't sure how much she would be able to handle before she just…broke.

The door opened, and Corie's heart skipped a beat when she thought it might be Jiro back for more.

But to her relief, it was Sasaki.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"You okay?" he asked.

"My stomach hurts. Jiro decided to cut off my food, not that the stuff they serve me could hardly even be called food."

"Why would he do that? I thought he made you eat so you'd heal faster and he could…um, continue what he was doing."

"Well, he got it into his head that it would be better to do everything when I'm hungry. Because then I feel it all even more and I don't heal as fast so the pain lasts longer. It's been a long time since I've eaten so I'm not really feeling too great."

Sasaki sighed heavily. This wasn't right. Even for a ghoul, this was just plain wrong. Why was he the only one here who seemed to understand that?

He slowly took his trench coat off and knelt down beside the bed. Then he pulled his shirt away from his shoulder. "Here."

Corie sat up in shock and shook her head. "No…I can't do that. You'll get in trouble if they find out you helped me."

"I'll be fine."

"But I…I can't hurt you."

"Corie…I can't stop what's happening to you…but at least I can make it a little more tolerable."

Tears in her eyes, Corie moved off the bed so she was on her knees in front of him. She gripped his shoulders and looked at the smooth white flesh before her. Despite herself, her stomach growled in anticipation. How long had it been since she'd had actual meat rather than Cochlea's poor knockoff?

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, her voice strained and broken.

Then she lowered her mouth to his shoulder and took a bite of his flesh. Sasaki winced in pain and tightened his fists.

Corie's fingers began to dig into his arms as she suddenly had the urge to consume more and more of his flesh until there was nothing left. It took almost all of her willpower to release him from her hold.

She sat back and put her hands to her blood-covered mouth, feeling somewhat nauseous now that she wasn't so consumed with desire.

Sasaki put his coat back on and left the room without another word.

He then stood outside the door and put his hand to his face in frustration. He couldn't believe that he, an investigator, had offered her his flesh when she was most desperate and she had refused. And because she was worried about what might happen to _him_.

Even weak and nearly broken, she was still looking out for him. She truly didn't want to hurt him. She just wanted to protect him.

Inside the cell, Corie broke down into sobs. Sasaki was more Kaneki than he realized. She couldn't believe that he had willingly offered a piece of himself to her like that, knowing who and what she was and all of the things she had done.

She couldn't believe that she had let herself hurt him physically like that.

Judging from his scent and Tsukiyama's reaction, his flesh was supposed to be one of the best things anyone had ever eaten. But Corie couldn't remember at all what he had tasted like.

* * *

Thick fog began to pour into the room. Corie coughed and waved her hand in front of her face. This was new. She just hoped this wasn't more RC suppressants. Really, how much of that stuff did they want to give her?

_"__Corie…"_

Corie whipped around, trying to see in the fog. Had someone walked into the room? Surely, she would've heard the door open or seen someone walk in. The room was painfully small.

Of course, at the moment, she couldn't see an inch in front of her so it was possible someone had managed to come inside without her knowing.

_"__Corie…"_

She quickly turned around again and saw a very familiar face looking back at her.

"Mama?" she said softly.

A man appeared next to her.

"Daddy? How…how are you here? You died."

"Hey, sis."

Corie turned to find Reo before her, looking exactly the same as the night she had watched him slaughtered at the hands of another ghoul.

"Reo," she cried. "I've missed you so much."

She started towards him, wanting to wrap him up in her arms and never let him go. She had longed to hold him again for almost ten years. And now…here he was right in front of her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Corie knew this wasn't possible. She was in…

Wait, where was she?

And why did it matter? It didn't matter because her family was in front of her as if they'd never left. Everything would be okay.

"You look different," Reo told her.

Corie could feel tears sinking down her cheeks. "I've grown in the last several years."

"You really missed me?"

"Yes. More than anything."

"How could you miss me when you've replaced me?"

She stopped walking. "What do you mean? I could never replace you."

"And yet you have. With that kid. Kaneki, right?"

"No, sweetie, it's not like that, I swear. It's true that I see him like my younger brother, but he could never take your place. You are my true brother and always will be. I could meet a thousand people like him, and they would never fill the hole that you left behind that night."

"I told you to live, Corie. What do you call this?"

Corie silenced, unable to find words to answer him. "Reo, I…"

"It's bad enough you replace me, but you couldn't even heed my final request."

"No!"

She stepped forward to touch him, but he disappeared into the fog.

Corie put her hand to her mouth and sank down to the floor with a quiet sob.

"It's your fault, you know."

She looked up to find her mother and father standing over her. "What is?" she choked out.

"That he's angry with you," her father said coldly. "He certainly has a right to be. You failed to protect him that night. You were his big sister, and you were supposed to be looking out for him. Instead, you let him die."

"You let our only son die because you were weak," her mother told her. "If you had been stronger, Reo would still be alive."

"Mama…"

"Don't call me that. My daughter would've protected my only son. You are the only one to blame for him dying. It should've been you that night."

Corie wept bitterly as her parents disappeared into the fog along with her brother.

On the other side of the mirror, Jiro looked at the screen that allowed him to see Corie through the thickness of the smoke.

"It appears the toxin I developed works wonders," he laughed to Sasaki.

"What does it do?" Sasaki asked, dreading the answer.

"It makes one see their worst fear and the mind will convince that person that whatever they are seeing is completely real no matter how crazy it might seem. Miss Masataka really has incredible pain tolerance, so maybe something to mess with her psychologically will get her to break and confess."

Sasaki watched Corie sob on the floor, guilt eating away at his heart. It was one thing to see her react to Jiro's physical torture, but this…

He wondered what had manifested right before her. What could this woman's worst fear be when she seemed to fear nothing? And…why did it make her cry instead of scream?

* * *

Several hours later, Jiro opened the door to the room and stepped inside.

Corie sat on the bed, hugging one knee to her chest. Without looking at him, she said emotionlessly, "I infiltrated the CCG to gain information on various operations in order to warn the involved ghouls on the outside so they could prepare for the investigators and kill as many as possible. I worked alone because everyone else thought the idea was too dangerous and was doomed to fail. They also didn't want to take the RC suppressant I used because the effects of it were still unknown."

Jiro smiled cruelly. "That wasn't so hard, was it, Miss Masataka?"

He left the room and slammed the door behind him which seemed to echo much louder than usual.

It wasn't much longer before Sasaki entered. "Why did you tell him all that?" he asked quietly. "There's no way that was the reason. Why didn't you tell them the truth?"

Corie looked at him sharply, and he was surprised to see just how weary and lifeless her eyes had become. "I did tell them the truth. And they didn't believe me. They weren't going to stop until I told them what they wanted to hear."

"Corie…"

"I told you that a person can only take so much. I thought I was stronger. But I…I can't do this anymore."

"What did that toxin make you see?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Corie, come on."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I was so desperate to be around you and to protect you that I didn't think about how I was affecting your new life."

"No. I'm sorry. I've been selfish. I wanted to hang on to what I have so badly that I didn't even think about the feelings of all the people I was leaving behind."

"I should've just stayed away."

"Corie, I'd probably be dead without Lightning. You did the right thing."

"I'm sorry," she said numbly. "Just…please go."

Sasaki couldn't believe what he was hearing. For the last several weeks, Corie had told him stories from his time as Kaneki, both good and bad, and while he still couldn't remember any of them, he appreciated hearing them.

It was clear to him that Corie had genuinely cared for Kaneki and continued to care about him as Sasaki. Becoming Lightning had all been for his sake to fulfill her promise to always be there to protect him when he needed her.

He hated seeing her reduced to this, regretting ever deciding to continue helping him when it had only brought her here.

Why hadn't he defended her when she had first been caught? Why had he told her that he didn't want to help her? How could he have been that heartless after everything she'd done for him?

Sadly, he exited the room.

Several hours later, an investigator Corie didn't know opened the door and took one step inside.

"Corie Masataka, your execution date has been set for three days from now."

The door shut again.

Corie looked at the closed door, the reality setting in that after everything she had been through, she was about to die.

She got up from the bed and walked over to the mirror. It was the first time she'd seen herself in weeks. Her eyes had dark circles beneath them, her skin was scarily pale, her usually thick hair was thin and matted, and she appeared to have lost a lot of weight.

Corie let out a long and terrified scream at the face looking back at her that didn't seem like it could be her own.

What she didn't know was that Sasaki was still on the other side, one hand to the glass longing to do something to save her.

* * *

Corie spent the next three days going over all the things she wished she had done differently.

She should've saved Kaneki from Arima that night. She should've been able to stop Yamori from taking him. She should've stopped Rize from nearly killing him. She definitely never should've left for seven whole months after he had been taken by Aogiri Tree.

She should have spent more time at :re with Touka and Yomo the last time she had visited. She wasn't even going to get to say good-bye to both of them. They would never know how much they truly meant to her.

The mirror suddenly switched. Corie looked over and saw Sasaki standing on the other side looking at her with a mournful expression. She walked over to the mirror and slowly put her hand to the glass. After a brief pause, Sasaki put his hand right where hers rested.

The two of them met eyes, and Corie thought that for a brief moment, she could just barely see the _tiniest_ bit of Kaneki in him.

Tears burning her eyes yet again, she turned away and crumpled into a heap against the wall. She suddenly realized that after her death, she wouldn't be around to help Kaneki anymore. She didn't know what was going to happen to him without her around. She had no idea if he would be okay.

And that scared her more than anything.

Without looking away from the glass, Sasaki said softly to his superior, "She could be useful. We could keep her as an informant. If she managed to infiltrate the CCG for an entire year, imagine what she could do if we got her to work on our side."

Arima looked at Sasaki with his usual expressionless face. "She appears to have quite the hold on you, Haise. The sooner we get rid of her, the better off you'll be."

Sasaki wasn't so sure that was true. If she was executed just because she had wanted to help him, the guilt was going to eat him alive for the rest of his natural life.

* * *

The door opened and two unfamiliar investigators stepped inside the small cell.

"Corie Masataka, you are to be executed today at 19:00 for crimes against the CCG and Japan. Please come with us calmly and quietly."

Though Corie made no indication of fighting back, they roughly took her arms and forced her out of the room.

Her eyes widened when she saw Sasaki standing just outside to assist in delivering her to her execution.

She started to struggle against the investigators' strong hold, but her weakened state didn't allow her to fight as much as she normally could. "Kaneki, please," she begged.

Sasaki winced even though she hadn't called him 'Sasaki' ever since she had been captured. Maybe it was because he felt guilty. Guilty that there was nothing he could do to prevent her death. Guilty that he wasn't Kaneki. Guilty that he couldn't give her that person back before she died.

"Please don't let them take me!" she pleaded. "Please, Kaneki! Don't let them do this! Kaneki, please! Kaneki! Kaneki! _KANEKI_!"

Something inside Sasaki snapped. He screamed as he bent over and held his head in his hands. It felt as if his blood was boiling inside him and his skull was splitting right in half. Images flashed though his mind so fast that he thought he might be sick.

The two other investigators froze while Corie looked at him with wide eyes. All she wanted was to take him into her arms and tell him to just focus on her and her voice so he would calm down.

But she was powerless to do anything. All she could do was watch him scream in agony.

He sank to the floor with ragged breaths.

"Investigator Sasaki?" one of the investigators said.

"Get away," Sasaki growled lowly.

"Sir?"

Sasaki stood up, his one kakugan eye glowing redder than ever. "Get away from my _SISTER_!"

To Corie's shock, Sasaki's red and black tentacles appeared behind his back. But unlike every other time a memory returned, he clearly had complete control over his kagune. He roughly knocked the two investigators away from her with two of the extending tentacles. She flinched with each strike and looked at the young man, not daring to believe what was happening right in front of her.

He ran over to her and scooped her up into his arms.

"It's good to have you back," she said softly.

"Hold on."

Corie wrapped her arms around his neck, and he jumped higher and higher until he burst directly through the roof of Cochlea. Then he maneuvered through the surrounding forest until he landed on the roof of one of the buildings in the city.

Corie weakly fell to the ground.

"Corie!"

The woman looked over at the white-haired young man. For the first time in two years, the look in his eyes that she had been yearning to see was there.

He knew who she was.

"…Is it really you?"

Kaneki smiled. "I'm back, Corie."

Corie half-laughed half-cried and threw her arms around him. "I can't believe it. I've missed you so much."

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I let them take you and torture you like that."

She didn't answer as she clutched onto him as tightly as she possibly could, feeling that if she let go, she would lose him all over again.

Kaneki tightly hugged her waist. He hadn't realized just how much he had missed her until he remembered everything about her.

"I'm just happy you're back after all this time," she said in between strangled laughs.

The cell phone in his shredded trench coat pocket began to ring. He hesitantly took it out and answered it. "Hello?"

"Haise, thank goodness we reached you!"

"Akira? What is it?"

"We thought you were dead!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The two investigators who went with you to escort Corie Masataka to her execution were killed! We thought she'd killed you too!"

Kaneki looked at Corie with wide eyes. "The two other investigators are dead," he said quietly. "They think you killed them before escaping." He put the phone back to his ear. "No, I'm all right. I managed to get out before she could hurt me. I'm sorry I let her escape."

"It's fine, I'm just glad to hear you're okay. Come on back to headquarters. We'll need a report about everything and work out what to do next."

"All right, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Kaneki hung up the phone.

"I don't understand," Corie said. "How did they die? Your strikes weren't nearly enough to kill them."

"I don't know. I know you definitely didn't do it and neither did I, but someone did. Maybe someone got out of their cell. It's highly unlikely but possible."

Corie pursed her lips. "We can use this to our advantage."

"What do you mean?"

"They don't know you got your memories back. They still think you're Haise Sasaki. You can remain working inside the CCG and find out the information we need."

"That's risky."

"Hey, I did it for a year and did a pretty good job up until the end there. Just for a little while longer, it might be really beneficial for you to be on the CCG's good side. You'll find out things a heck of a lot faster than if you were on your own, that's for sure." Seeing his doubtful look, she quickly added, "But…if you don't ever want to set foot in that place again, that's okay too. You don't have to do that and don't feel like you do. I don't want to make you do anything…okay?"

"I hate it, but you might be right. What kind of things do we need to find out?"

"Um…finding Dr. Kanou should be our main priority for right now. I don't know where he is or what he's been doing, but I have a feeling he never stopped attempting to make half-ghouls like you and those two girls we saw at his hideout. And…I want to find my cousin."

"I want to find her too. I'll see what I can do."

"You should get back before they start to think something's wrong."

"What about you?"

"…Take me to :re."

Kaneki paused.

:re.

Touka was there.

Touka.

"You don't have to go in right now," Corie told him, noticing his look again. "Just drop me off and get back. You can reunite with everyone later if you want. I'll tell them what happened."

Kaneki gently hefted the weakened Corie up into his arms and took off through the city to the familiar coffee shop he had spent so much time at as Sasaki.

He set her down just outside the door. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Will you?"

"I can take care of myself."

"Famous last words."

Corie tightly hugged him again and didn't release him for quite a long time. She didn't want to let go. She wasn't sure sending him back to the CCG under false pretenses was the best idea, but currently, it was their only option. But if something happened to him when she couldn't get to him, she would never forgive herself.

Finally, she pulled away from him. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise."

"Go."

Kaneki took off to return to CCG headquarters to continue his life as Haise Sasaki with all the memories of Ken Kaneki.

Corie weakly stepped inside the coffee shop, using the tables to support her.

"Touka," she called quietly.

"Corie?"

Corie collapsed onto the floor of the café.

Touka rushed over to her side, Yomo behind her. "What are you doing here? How did you get out of Cochlea? What did they do to you?"

"Touka." Corie looked up at her with the most hope Touka had seen in her eyes in months. "He remembers."

Touka's eyes widened. "…What?"

"Kaneki. He remembers."

"He does?"

"Yeah."

"But…how?" She looked over the woman and took in her severely weakened state. "You know what? We'll talk about it later. Come on."

Yomo and Touka each put one of her arms around their necks and helped her up to the second floor of the coffee shop into one of the spare rooms.

"Yomo and I made sure to have a room for you all ready for whenever you needed it," Touka told her.

Corie smiled weakly as she took a seat on the bed. "Thank you."

Touka sat in a chair across from her. "We heard about you getting caught. It was all over the news that a ghoul had managed to infiltrate the CCG. We decided that we would try to break in and get you out, but we had no idea where they were keeping you. Irimi and Koma went in tonight to try to at least find you. The plan was that they would report back and we would break in with more support later."

"They didn't have to do that."

"Stop. We look after our own and you know that."

"Wait a minute, Irimi and Koma went to Cochlea tonight?"

"Yeah. I guess we don't have to actually break in now."

Corie wondered if they were the ghouls who killed the two investigators who had attempted to take her to her execution. With them dead, no one in the CCG knew about Kaneki getting his memories back.

"Get some sleep, and we'll figure out what to do tomorrow."

Touka started to leave the room.

"Touka," Corie said tearfully.

Touka turned back to face her. "What is it?"

"I…I don't think I can access my kagune anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I was having a hard time getting it out even before I was captured, and while I was in Cochlea, they pumped me full of even more RC suppressants. I…I think it was too much and it suppressed everything permanently."

Touka went over to her and took her hand. "Corie, you're exhausted and you've been through a lot in the last few months. Try to get some rest, and then we'll see what we can do, all right?"

The woman nodded and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm really glad you're alive. I was really worried about you." Just before Touka left the room, she added, "And just so you know…if anything had happened to you, we planned on continuing Lightning's job."

Corie gave her a tired but relieved smile. "Thanks."


	19. Battle at Anteiku

**_Corie=25_**

**_Kaneki=19_**

Corie sighed as Irimi tied her hair up into a French braid. It reminded her of the time she had stormed Aogiri headquarters looking for Kaneki. She wasn't sure how she had managed to fight so well that night, but she hoped she could repeat her success now.

"Thanks, Irimi," the young woman said to her friend.

"No problem. This look suits you."

"It's supposed to be practical for fighting."

"Doesn't mean you can't look good at the same time."

Corie laughed as Irimi left the room.

Yoshimura slowly walked inside to replace her. "It all comes down to this, I see."

She turned and gave him a sad smile. "Yeah. Who knew that young 13-year-old girl would be here helping you defend this coffee shop?"

"I wanted to show you something." He handed her a small picture of a blonde woman holding a baby. "That's your Aunt Ukina."

Corie smiled fondly as she rubbed her hand over the picture. "She's so beautiful. Was she as nice as she looks?"

"She was even more beautiful and even nicer. A picture could never capture all that she was."

"I wish I could've met her."

"She would've loved you. Both you and Reo."

Corie knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it. "What's…what's my cousin's name?"

"Eto. Eto Yoshimura."

"The head of Aogiri Tree. I hope that someday…I can meet her face-to-face. And try to help bring her back into the light."

"I hope so too." He gently put his hand to her cheek. "You mean so much to me, my dear. It has been my ultimate pleasure to raise you and watch you grow into such a strong young woman."

"Please don't talk like that. You have to promise me that you'll try your absolute hardest to come back to me when this is all over."

Yoshimura silently nodded.

Corie was aware of what was going to happen tonight, but somehow, saying the words gave her the slightest glimmer of hope that they would both make it out unscathed.

"Corie, I need you to promise me something. Promise me that if things start to get very bad, you will leave without hesitation."

"Uncle Yoshimura…"

He held up a hand to silence her. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but if it does, I want you to run. Koma, Irimi, and I…we're all ready to give our lives tonight as punishment for all of the terrible things we have done in the past. But you…I'm not ready for you to give up just yet. Promise me, Corie."

"I…I promise."

"Remember to keep a clear head tonight so you can fight your hardest."

"I will." Just before he left the room, she called to him, "Uncle Yoshimura? Thank you…for everything. I love you."

Yoshimura smiled sadly. "I love you too."

Corie turned back to her mirror and took some deep breaths, trying to keep her head as clear as possible. She didn't know how tonight was going to end and she was scared. But now was not the time to lose herself to her fears, so she shoved away all of the anxiety and told herself that there was a slight chance everything would turn out okay.

She slowly walked downstairs to the bottom level of Anteiku to find Koma and Irimi in their jackets and masks.

"You guys look sick," she laughed half-heartedly.

"Corie," Irimi said kindly. "We both have enjoyed every second we've got to spend with you. It is an honor for us to fight by your side."

Corie smiled as she slipped her mask onto the lower half of her face. "Same for me. You guys are my best friends, and I appreciate you looking out for me and my brother when we first got here."

"We're fighting for your uncle tonight," Koma told her. "But we're also fighting for Reo."

The two older ones exited the café.

The battle for Anteiku had begun.

* * *

Corie maneuvered throughout the city block, moving her kagune with expert skill. It wasn't as perfect as when she stormed Aogiri Tree, but it was certainly up there. She hopped from building to building, providing backup for the Devil Apes and Black Dogs whenever needed.

She felt guilty for killing so many investigators who just wanted to protect their country and the innocent humans within, but when it came down to it, it was her or them.

When the investigators nearly killed several of the Black Dogs at once, Corie jumped in between them and deflected all the blows with her tentacles.

She stood up and looked directly at the investigator in front. It was the same one from that night at Aogiri Tree and again at Dr. Kanou's mansion.

"We meet again," she said lowly. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. I admire your tenacity."

"You're friends with Eyepatch, aren't you?"

"You could say that."

"I never understood why you both did the things you've done."

He clenched his fists, and if Corie didn't know any better, she'd think he actually looked regretful.

"But it doesn't matter tonight. Tonight, you are both ghouls, and that means you both must _DIE_!"

The investigator charged towards her, but Corie quickly dodged all of his blows. "Even though we fight for opposite sides, I respect you," she said in between his attacks. "But I'm sorry, I told you I can't die yet."

Corie used one of her kagune tentacles to swipe him off his feet and toss him several feet across the street where he collided into three other investigators.

Then she turned back around to the group of Black Dogs. "I'll leave you to deal with them."

Some of the Black Dogs nodded and then continued to engage in battle with the incredible number of investigators.

She hoped Koma and Irimi were still holding their own. She hadn't seen them since they had walked out of Anteiku. They were talented fighters, but they were also horribly outnumbered. She hadn't realized so many investigators were going to be here fighting tonight.

More importantly, she hoped her uncle was all right.

The fight raged on for hours, stretching across several blocks.

Corie fought investigator after investigator and she could slowly begin to feel her stamina weakening. She had worked hard to increase her endurance, but keeping a clear head in order to fight took a lot of work in itself and between that and all of the physical fighting, she could only go for so long.

"Urgent message!" her keen hearing picked up over one of the dead investigator's comms. "Squad 4 Investigator Amon is engaging the enemy! The target is the Centipede!"

Corie gasped, losing her clear head for a second. She quickly took a breath to gain it back.

That was Kaneki. Kaneki was fighting with them.

Was he in his Centipede form right now? That would be really bad. He had absolutely no control over that form and he was going to get himself killed if he fought like that.

She started bounding across the rooftops in order to find him and defend him, but she froze when she came across her uncle's own battle.

The One-Eyed Owl was engaged with a large group of investigators, and he looked terrible which was to be expected. This whole mission was to eradicate him and him alone. That meant their most experienced fighters were battling him all at once.

Corie watched in horror as they delivered blow after blow with a mixture of quinques and kakuja armors.

He stopped an attack from a quinque but another small blond investigator jumped on his partner's back and delivered a crippling blow with his enormous quinque to the Owl's chest.

Finally, one of the investigators with the armor evaded the Owl's massive kagune and managed to strike his chest and head.

The protective kakuja mask on the Owl's head cracked and he bent over onto the ground, panting heavily.

Corie jumped down from the building and landed directly in front of the Owl.

"Hold your fire!" one of the investigators ordered.

Corie put her hands to her uncle's face, tears falling from her eyes.

"Corie," Yoshimura said quietly between pants so that the investigators couldn't hear him. "You need to go. I need you to look after everyone from Anteiku. Touka and Hinami…and Kaneki. They're going to need you. But most importantly, I need you to live. Live, Corie, just like Reo wanted you to. Go."

With grim resolve, Corie left her uncle's side for the last time and bounded up to the roof of the building next door, out of sight of the rest of the investigators. She watched as her uncle collapsed onto the ground, the fighting done.

Reluctantly, she wiped the tears from her eyes and continued to search for Kaneki. The middle of a battle was not the appropriate time to mourn. That would have to wait. She just prayed that the boy hadn't gone completely insane yet if he was indeed in his Centipede form.

Going from rooftop to rooftop, Corie tried to block out all of the horrible hypotheticals her mind continued to feed her. What if she didn't make it in time? What if she lost him? What if he was already dead? Her heart ached at the mere thought of it.

Finally, she could just barely make out familiar agonized screaming. Going towards the awful noise, she found herself inside Route V14, an escape route ghouls used to get in and out of the 24th ward.

"Kaneki?!" she called. "Where are you?!" She frantically ran down the route. There was only one way to go so if she just kept running, she would find him. She would find him…

Then she saw him. Kaneki writhed around on the ground in obvious pain, screaming things incoherently.

"Kaneki!" she cried, running over to him. "It's okay! I'm here! I'm here!"

"There's no time!" he muttered. "I have to go help. We have to regroup and…Mr. Yoshimura…I have to help him."

"Kaneki, look at me!" she ordered, taking off her mask. "Look at me!"

"Meat…human…kill…eat. No, I don't want to. Please don't die, Amon. I'll protect…nip evil in…"

Corie put her arms around him to hold him close to her so that he didn't end up hurting himself. "Kaneki, just focus on me, all right? Focus only on me."

Kaneki put his hands to his head to block out whatever voices he was hearing. "Stay away from me! Can't you see you're killing me?! My body is mine! Get out of my body!"

"Kaneki, come on, breathe, focus on me."

His kagune went flying behind him and knocked Corie into the wall.

"All right, if that's how you want to play it."

She exposed her purple and black tentacles and knocked him into the other side of the tunnel.

"Kaneki, it's me! Corie! Just focus only on me! Forget about everything else!"

Kaneki screamed in pain and sank to the ground. "Please…help…"

Corie tightly and protectively put her arms around him. "I'm here. I'm right here. I'm here, Kaneki. You are not alone. I'm here."

She heard footsteps from one end of the tunnel and looked up, prepared to fight whoever it was.

"Hey, Kaneki. Corie."

She couldn't believe it.

Hide.

"What's with that outfit? Is that what's in right now?"

"…Hide?" Kaneki said softly.

"Whoa, better than some Hollywood special effects makeup. You've been struggling all this time, haven't you? You don't need it anymore. The mask."

Hide walked up to him and knelt down in front of him.

"I knew all along, man!"

Despite everything, Corie couldn't help but smile. Kaneki had always been so afraid that Hide wouldn't accept him as a half-ghoul and yet his best friend had known the truth the entire time.

She wondered when he'd figured it out. Probably all the way back when she'd helped save them from Nishiki. A car accident was a pretty poor cover-up, particularly for someone as observant as him.

And despite working at the CCG, he hadn't told anyone.

No…he'd gotten a job at the CCG strictly to protect him.

Shouts and bangs could be heard from the end of the tunnel Hide had come from.

Corie looked up at the boy. "I'll buy you some time."

"Thanks, Corie. I always knew you were cool."

Corie smiled and put her mask back on before going outside the tunnel to hold off the investigators until Kaneki and Hide could gather themselves. She had a strong feeling that Hide would be able to hold himself up against his best friend, even in his less-than-perfect mental state.

When she exited the tunnel, she came across a very young investigator with brown hair facing off against one of the ghouls from Aogiri Tree.

Wait a minute, what were ghouls from Aogiri Tree doing here? Did that mean her cousin was here too?

Corie looked at the young man's face and saw only terror. Though he was on the side of the Doves and he wouldn't hesitate to kill her if he got the chance, she felt nothing but sympathy for him. He wanted to do his job and protect his country, but facing against ghouls, especially powerful ones like this one, was terrifying for anyone much less someone so inexperienced.

Corie activated her kagune and jumped in between them.

The investigator fell back in surprise, tears of fear streaming down his cheeks.

She looked straight at him.

Takizawa stared back at her in horror. The ghoul's flaming kakugan gleamed angry shades of red and black. He raised his gun to shoot at her, but he couldn't steady his shaking hand enough to get a good shot. To his utter shock, rather than killing him without a second thought, she turned around and faced the other ghoul.

"Well, isn't this something?" the ghoul with the red mask taunted. "A ghoul defending an investigator?"

"I know you," Corie said lowly. "You're Tatara, aren't you? You were responsible for Kaneki's abduction."

"I wouldn't say I was responsible."

"You're one of the heads of Aogiri Tree which means you had a hand in it. I will kill you for what you did to him. Just like I killed Jason."

Takizawa's eyes widened in alarm. This ghoul…was the one who killed the infamous Jason of the 13th ward? What would she do to him when she was done with this Tatara ghoul?

"That's wonderful for you," the ghoul said to her. "But I grow tired of this drivel."

"Good because I'm done talking."

Corie's shoulder flinched and one of her kagune tentacles stabbed Tatara in the face. It wasn't enough to kill him, but he was admittedly surprised that she was able to deal such a blow so quickly.

Takizawa looked on in equal horror and amazement. He had never seen a ghoul so fast before.

Tatara's thick red kagune tentacles aimed for her, but she expertly dodged out of the way and delivered two more strikes of her own. She then wrapped one of her tentacles around his body and tossed him up in the air before using another one to send him crashing through the building next to them.

Panting heavily, she turned back to Takizawa. He stared at her flaming kakugan and began whimpering in fear once again.

The female ghoul did nothing. She just stood there looking at him until he had somewhat calmed down.

Slowly, she allowed her kagune to dissolve and the black sclera faded to white until he was looking into cool blue eyes.

Takizawa realized that he had never seen a ghoul's true eyes before nor had he seen one without their kagune. Granted, whenever he saw them, he was fighting them which meant both parties were on the defensive.

When he got a better look at her eyes, he was stunned to see that they looked so…sad. Was she sad for him? Or for herself? Or for the whole fight happening around her?

"You're not going to kill me?" he choked out between the whimpers.

Without laying a single finger or tentacle on him, she jumped into the air and bounded off.

Did that ghoul really just…save him? Had she really looked him right in the eye and not killed him?

Unfortunately, neither he nor the female saw the ghoul known as Noro approaching him.

Corie raced back to V14, but Kaneki and Hide were nowhere to be found.

She soon reached the end of the passage and immediately felt as if she was going to be sick at the sight that greeted her.

Hundreds of ghouls lay dead at her feet. All of them wore the uniform of either a Devil Ape or a Black Dog.

How…how had this happened?

Slowly taking off her mask, she walked through the sea of bodies in horror. This shouldn't have been possible. This many ghouls shouldn't have been taken out like this. Not here.

And then she came across one body that looked different than all the rest.

Corie gasped and felt her heart stop beating for several moments.

There lying on the ground motionless with large holes where his eyes should've been…was Kaneki.

Corie sank to the ground near his head. "…Kaneki?" she said softly, hoping with everything she had that he wasn't really dead.

She touched him, and he felt cold.

Corie turned and vomited onto the ground. She thought she had become used to the taste of vomit considering how many times she'd had to force herself to throw up in the past, but something about this was more acidic and bitter than ever.

She put Kaneki's head in her lap and gently stroked the sides of his face and his white blood-drenched hair with her thumbs.

Then she screamed. She screamed as loud and long as she could until her screams quieted into gut-wrenching sobs.

"No," she wept over him, tears falling onto his face. "No, you can't leave me, Kaneki. You can't leave me. You're supposed to be here with me. You can't leave me yet."

He remained motionless in her arms. She could only stare inside his empty eye sockets that would never see her or anything else ever again.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you."

Corie knew that she should out fighting in the battle happening just feet above her. The middle of a battle was no time to mourn.

But this was different. Knowing that Kaneki was dead, she would never be able to keep a clear head which meant she would be of no help to anyone.

She stayed with him for another several minutes cradling his broken body until she heard footsteps. She looked up, hoping it was Hide, but it was just the opposite.

"You," she growled.

Arima looked down at the scene with no emotion as if it didn't matter that he had just completely destroyed her entire world.

"I will_ KILL YOU FOR THIS_!"

Corie leapt up and activated her kagune. She charged towards Arima, but he dodged every single one of her attacks with almost no effort.

Corie knew Arima was an extremely talented investigator and fighter and with her head the furthest thing from clear at the moment, she didn't have a prayer.

But she couldn't stop. She wanted him to die.

She continued to attack him over and over and over again. Each time, he defended himself and inflicted a large wound on her.

Finally, Corie stopped a distance away from him, breathing heavily as she tried to gain her bearings.

She couldn't go on or she would be the one to end up dead.

As much as that seemed like the favorable option at the moment, she had to honor her uncle's final wish for her to live.

"Please forgive me, Kaneki," she sobbed quietly. "For everything."

Though every muscle in her body screamed for her to stay, she forced herself to leave Kaneki's body in the midst of all the carnage.


	20. Recovering

**_Corie=27_**

**_Kaneki=22_**

Corie slowly came down the stairs of :re early in the morning before the café opened, still needing to lean against the wall for support.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Touka asked the woman.

With a little difficulty, Corie slowly eased herself into one of the chairs in front of the counter. "Like I've fought fifty investigators by myself. Everything hurts. But it sure is better waking up here than in Cochlea."

Touka put a mug and a plate on the counter. "Here. I made some coffee and grabbed some meat from the fridge down below. That should help you get your energy back."

"I just want to be able to use my kagune. I never knew how stifling it could be to not be able to use it at all." Corie slowly began digging into her meal and sighed happily. It tasted infinitely better than the slop served in Cochlea. "Mm…it's been months since I've been able to drink your coffee. You're better at this than I am."

"Um…so, Corie, there's probably something you should know."

Corie grimaced. "The last time you said that, you told me that Kaneki had lost all his memories. What is it this time?"

Before Touka could answer, a familiar purple-haired ghoul walked into the café. "Ah, _mon ange_, how it wounds me to see you so weak!"

"Tsukiyama?!" Corie exclaimed. "What are you doing…out of bed?"

"Well, Miss Kirishima came to see me and told me about how you had been captured by those terrible Doves. So naturally, I offered my assistance to help get you away from them."

Corie raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"She may have also told me that my sweet Kaneki is still alive."

"There it is. Well, it's nice to be an afterthought."

"You could've just told me he was still alive, Miss Masataka, instead of wasting your words trying to get me to leave my room."

"Well, I was _trying _to help you get a grip first, and _then_ I planned on telling you. I had to make sure you wouldn't immediately go and try to eat him again."

"Have I not already proven that I am a changed man? Honestly, what more must I do to show you that I am not who I was before?"

"Go take a long walk off a short cliff."

Tsukiyama smirked. "Feisty as ever, I see. Even after being in that awful ghoul prison. So is it true that my sweet Kaneki has lost all of his beautiful memories of _moi_?"

"Yes, but all of his memories came back last night just before he helped me escape. I guess that means he remembers you too."

"Oh, you sound frustrated, dear. Did you perhaps not _want_ him to remember me?"

"Bite me."

"If you insist."

"Enough," Touka interjected. She turned to Corie. "Look, we had no idea how we were going to break you out and we needed all the help we could get. I knew that if Tsukiyama knew that Kaneki was alive, he would help us."

Hearing that Touka had worked so hard to help her upon learning she was in trouble, Corie felt a lump in her throat. How long had it been since someone had gone to such lengths to help her? How long had it been since she'd _let _someone help her?

Touka leaned forward onto the counter. "What's the plan now?"

"I have no idea," Corie answered as she took another sip of the wonderfully brewed coffee. "I kind of didn't have anything worked out beyond Kaneki getting his memories back."

"Where is he now?"

"The guards who were taking me to my execution were killed, which I'm pretty sure Irimi and Koma were responsible for. Because of that, no one at the CCG knows he remembers everything, so we decided that for the time being, he would pretend to be Sasaki and find out information that he can get back to us."

"What kind of information?"

"Our main focus right now is finding out what happened to Dr. Kanou. Ever since we stormed his hideout two years ago, I haven't heard anything about him, and I want to know if he's making more half-ghouls like he did with Kaneki. I…I was so focused on protecting Kaneki from ghouls that may want to harm him that I forgot there are humans out there that are harming other people too."

Touka sighed. "Then we'll have to wait until Kaneki gets back in contact with you before we decide to do anything."

"I need to go the training area and see if I can get my kagune out."

"You're not doing anything until you take it easy for at least a week. You look awful."

"I'll be fine. I have to try."

"No. You have been through a lot, Corie. You're not going down there until you heal, and don't test me because I will stop you. And in your current condition, you're gonna be pretty easy to take down."

Though frustrated, Corie couldn't help but smile. She had thought she would never get to hear Touka nag her again.

* * *

For the next week, Corie stayed at :re and did her best to get some rest and take it easy. The problem was that whenever she tried to sleep, she was plagued with endless nightmares about her torturous imprisonment in Cochlea. She would wake up in a panic and it took several moments for her to remember that she was not prisoner and she wasn't going to die at Jiro's hands.

She wondered if Sasaki had ever had nightmares. With a sinking feeling, she realized that now that Kaneki's memories had returned, all of his nightmares, particularly the ones about Yamori torturing him, probably would too.

Maybe it really would've been better if she had just stayed out of the way and left him alone…

Well, it was too late to turn back or start having regrets now.

Once she had gotten her strength back, she put on a dark hoodie and tossed the hood up to hide her face since she was a wanted ghoul now and she was sure the CCG made sure everyone in Japan knew what she looked like.

She traversed to the underground tunnel where she used to train with Kaneki. It was empty and she had no idea when it had last been used. She had missed this place. Things were always simpler down here. In this space, all that matter was training and getting stronger. Nothing outside of this room existed and one could forget about all of the trouble happening above.

Corie removed her sweatshirt and tossed it aside. Then she took several deep breaths and focused all her energy into releasing her kagune.

"Come on," she pleaded of the additional organ. "Please come out! Please!"

She tried and tried over and over until her muscles screamed for her to stop. Nothing exited from her back and she could not make any of her tentacles form.

Before being taken to Cochlea, it had been difficult to release her kagune, but it always eventually came.

This time, there was absolutely nothing.

Corie sank to the ground in tears.

She suddenly felt two arms slide around her to pull her close.

"How…how did you know I was here?" she choked out.

"Sibling intuition," Kaneki replied. "What happened?"

"I can't…I can't get my kagune out. After giving myself RC suppressants for the last year and then everything that was pumped into me in Cochlea…it was too much. No matter how hard I try, it just won't come out."

"Corie, you don't need your kagune to fight."

"Yes, I do. My kagune was what made me such a good fighter. It's why the CCG rated Lightning SS."

"I saw you training my squad. You defeated all of them multiple times and that was you holding back so as to appear human to them. You can't tell me that in all the places you've been, you never worked on your hand-to-hand combat."

"Kagunes are how we survive. It doesn't matter how good I am at combat. I can't fight other ghouls when I don't have mine."

Kaneki sighed. He didn't like it, but she had a point. After he had first become a ghoul, he had tried to go without using his kagune and quickly learned that he would get slaughtered if he didn't learn how to use it and control it.

"How about we spar in a few days when I get some time off?" he asked. "And this time, we can really spar without both of us pretending to be someone else."

Corie smiled through her tears. "That sounds like exactly what I need."

"Good."

She didn't tell him about the nightmares or her doubts about her actions regarding him getting his memories back. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what his response would be.

"Have you learned anything since we last saw each other?" she asked.

"Just that those two investigators were killed by two invading ghouls who managed to break into Cochlea. Interestingly enough, they didn't break anyone out. They just slipped in, killed them, and left."

"Touka told me Irimi and Koma broke in that night to try to find me so they could prepare to break me out. They must've killed the two investigators so that no one knew you had gotten your memories back. It would've been pretty bad for you if everyone found out while you were still in Cochlea."

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll keep looking for information on Dr. Kanou and the other One-Eyed Owl. Can you meet here next week?"

"Yeah. You do realize you're going to have to talk to Touka eventually, right?"

Kaneki grimaced. "I know."

"I know she's intimidating, but she deserves to see you."

"It's not that I don't want to see her. It's just…I don't know, I can't explain it."

"You've always wanted to protect her from your world, and I get that. But…shutting her out and pushing her away isn't going to do either of you any good. She's tougher than you give her credit for. I think you need to give her a chance."

Kaneki sighed. "Yeah, you're right. How about…we spar down here for a while, and then…we'll go to :re together."

"Sounds good. You know…there's another person you need to see."

"Who?"

"Hide."

Kaneki's heart skipped a few beats. "He's…he's still alive?"

"Yeah. I don't know where he is now, but he came to see me a little while ago asking about how you were doing. It was nice to catch up. He really misses you."

Kaneki didn't know what to say. He could barely remember the last time he'd seen his best friend, but what he did know was that it hadn't been a great meeting. He remembered feeling tired and weak and too many thoughts invading him all at once.

And then Hide showed up. And then…

He didn't want to remember after that.

"Well, for now, just rest up," he finally said. "Maybe your body just needs to heal for a while and get rid of all that RC suppressant on its own."

"Maybe. But I think I have to face the possibility that my kagune is gone for good. I knew the risks. This is my burden to bear."

That certainly didn't stop Kaneki from feeling guilty that he was ultimately the reason she couldn't get her kagune out anymore.

* * *

When she and Kaneki met below in the tunnel, the two of them engaged in hand-to-hand combat for a little over two hours. It was not so much for training purposes but more to relieve themselves of all their anger and anxieties and forget about everything happening above them for a little while. For this reason, there was absolutely no mention of the CCG, Kanou, or Eto for the duration of their fight.

Unfortunately, they couldn't stay down in the tunnel forever.

The both of them slowly returned to the world above, careful to keep both of their faces hidden, and walked back to :re.

"Welcome to…"

Touka's voice faltered when she saw who had stepped into the café.

"Uh, hey, Touka," Kaneki said sheepishly.

The young woman marched over to him and slammed his head onto the counter.

Corie shook her head. It appeared that some things would never change.

"Well, I feel better now," Touka said.

Kaneki picked himself up off the floor.

She gave him a warm smile. "Welcome back, Ken."

Was it possible for Touka to have become even more beautiful than when he had last seen her a few weeks ago? It just didn't seem possible for one person to be so incredibly pretty.

Maybe she was just that much more beautiful because he now remembered exactly who she was to him.

"Did I hear that Kaneki was back?!" Tsukiyama quickly but somehow still gracefully came out from the back of the café. "So it's true! You really are alive! _Incroyable_! It cannot be!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's wonderful that you're still a perverted freak," Corie said with a wave of her hand. "We have more pressing matters to deal with."

Kaneki, Corie, Touka, Yomo, Irimi, Koma, and (to everyone's disdain) Tsukiyama gathered in the back of the shop to discuss their next move now that Kaneki was Kaneki again.

"I have a lead about Dr. Kanou," Kaneki explained. "After we stormed his hideout two years ago, the CCG completely cleared it out. However, I managed to track down a building the CCG used several years ago for secret experimental work. When it was revealed the investigators and scientists were involved in questionably ethical experiments, it was shut down and has been out of use ever since. What's interesting is that Dr. Kanou's name appeared on the list of scientists who were part of the team conducting the experiments. It's possible that he's using that building now."

"Wouldn't the CCG have already explored the place?" Corie asked.

"That's the thing. They raided it several years ago and found nothing. I guess after that, they just forgot it existed."

"It's a long shot, but it's all we've got. We should check it out as soon as possible. Maybe we can find something on my cousin while we're there."

"Touka—"

"Don't," she quickly cut him off. "Don't even think about leaving me out of this. If you so much as attempt to leave me out of anything from now on, I'll kill you in your sleep."

Everyone knew that was a total lie, but Kaneki got the message quite clearly.

"We'll need to infiltrate as quietly as possible. The CCG cannot know about any of this."

"Just tell us what to do, Kaneki," Irimi said. "We follow your lead."

* * *

"Hey, Uta," Corie smiled as she stepped inside the mask shop.

Uta swiveled around on his chair to look at her. "Good to see you up and alive, Cor. I heard you got pretty close there."

"Yeah…" She stepped closer to him and ran her hand over his head. "Your hair's gotten so long."

"I decided to grow it out."

"I like it like this."

Uta swiveled his chair back to the desk and continued working on his current mask. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to ask a favor."

"I already started making you a new mask. Figured after you were outed as Lightning, you were going to need a new one. Too bad because that one suited you best."

"No, that wasn't it, but thanks."

"What is it this time?"

"I…I can't access my kagune anymore."

Uta paused and brought his hands down from the mask. "I warned you that was a possibility when I gave that stuff to you."

"Yeah, I know. It's not that I didn't listen, I just didn't have any other choice. Everyone says that if I give it time, it'll come back, but…when I try to release it, I don't feel anything at all. None of my muscles respond the way they used to."

"Well, you can only suppress it so much before it stays that way."

"Without it, I don't have any way to defend myself, much less protect the people I care about. I have nothing."

"I wouldn't say nothing. You've always been a pretty good fighter even without it."

"So I've heard. It doesn't change the fact that up against the people we face, I'm dead without it. I need something. Anything at all to replace it."

Uta raised an eyebrow when he guessed where this was going.

"I want you to teach me how to change my appearance. In all the places I've been, I've never met anyone who can do what you can."

Uta put down his tools and turned to face her. "There's a reason for that. Only ghouls who have a certain genetic makeup can do it, and even the ghouls who have it can't do it because it's insanely difficult to learn."

"I know something about learning difficult techniques."

"Fair enough. I'll teach you, but I can't be sure you'll actually be able to do it."

"We won't know until we try."

"Follow me."

He stood up from his chair and walked into one of the back rooms. Corie slowly followed him inside where there were two large shelves full of materials needed for the masks he made. Two chairs facing each other sat directly in between them.

Uta sat in one of them. "Take a seat."

Corie sat down across from him.

"Rule #1 is that you can't mimic anyone of the opposite sex so you're stuck imitating women."

"Okay."

"Close your eyes. Picture someone's face. Someone you know pretty well. Picture every single detail about that face, right down to the tiniest freckle. Now relax. Feel every blood cell inside you, everything that makes you a ghoul. Focus on all of those cells, and let them do what is necessary to complete your transformation."

Corie followed all of his instructions to the best of her ability, but after five minutes of concentration, she had nothing to show for it.

"All right, let me do something simpler. Relax, and focus on that one person's voice. Remember how she speaks, how she says each word, the type of lilt she has, and anything else completely unique to her. Let your vocal cords relax and fix themselves as they see fit. Now say something."

"Um…hey, how's it going?"

No luck. All that came out was Corie's own voice.

Uta stood up from his chair. "Work on it yourself. If you can change your appearance or even your voice the slightest bit, come back and see me."

Corie sighed as he left to return to his work. It was a stretch and she knew it, but losing her kagune was a huge blow to her and she needed something to replace it. She needed to feel in control again. This was all she had left.


	21. The First Raid

**_Corie=27_**

**_Kaneki=22_**

For over a month, Corie went down into the tunnel every single day and attempted to release her kagune. When that continued to fail, she spent the rest of her time trying to heed Uta's instructions and will herself to change her appearance.

She thought she got close a couple times, but she still remained Corie and never once was she able to change her face or her voice.

Every now and again, Kaneki came down into the tunnel to spar with her and tell her if he'd learned anything about Kanou or her cousin.

There wasn't really anything substantial about the One-Eyed Owl's true identity, so they were going to have to do a lot more digging once they found Kanou.

At one point, Kaneki delivered the mask Uta had finished making for her. It covered the upper half of her face, and the red and white design looked as if it had been glued back together after shattering. She thought about calling herself 'Opera Ghost' but decided to just let the CCG name her if she ever got out again.

After a month of planning their raid, the group at :re gathered together and prepared to carry out the mission.

"Tsukiyama?" Corie said as she approached the man who looked uncharacteristically down. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just…one of my servants has not been seen in a while, and I must admit I'm rather worried."

"Which one?"

"Kanae."

Corie furrowed her brow. She had seen Kanae's extreme devotion to Tsukiyama firsthand so his disappearance probably wasn't anything good. "Let's deal with this mission tonight, and then I'll help you try to find him."

"I'm surprised you're willing to offer your assistance. Not only do you sorely dislike me, but you've made it clear you don't really care for him either."

"Maybe not, but if he's in trouble, I'm not going to just sit and do nothing."

Tsukiyama dramatically took both of her hands in his. "You always continue to surprise me, darling."

Corie smiled a little. "Some of us look out for other people besides ourselves."

She didn't know if Tsukiyama truly didn't want to eat Kaneki anymore, but something about him and his presence was reassuring. Of all the things that had changed dramatically, his personality was the same as ever.

The group moved out of the café and headed to the location Kaneki had researched intensively.

The building itself looked completely abandoned from the outside which was probably why the CCG had never looked into it again.

However, the fact that it was more than a little difficult to get inside said that someone, if not Kanou, had been doing work here quite recently and the work was not meant for prying eyes.

The group quietly traversed the halls, looking for Kanou specifically or anything else that might lead them to him or Eto.

Corie was more on edge than ever before. This was her first real mission since she'd lost her kagune, and she was really worried that she wasn't going to be able to protect herself or anyone else in the group. Now she somewhat understood how the investigators felt, and though they were on opposite sides, her respect for them increased.

She could only hope that they didn't run into any SS+ ghouls.

"Where is everyone?" Irimi asked. "You'd think that there'd be at least one worker somewhere in this whole place."

The sound of maniacal giggles echoed from down the hall. Everyone quickly put up their guards and continued walking.

They soon found themselves inside a large chamber with multiple glass cases surrounding the entirety of the room. Each of them had a number on the frontside. The numbers went all the way up to 150, but there were probably more in another room.

"What are these things?" Touka asked quietly.

"Hey, how did you get in here?!" someone yelled.

They all turned to find several employees wearing white lab coats.

"Why didn't the alarms go off?!"

"Evacuate the building now!"

"You know what the doctor said if this happens!"

"Someone push the button!"

Alarms and red lights pulsed throughout the building.

Everyone in the group, minus Corie, activated their kagunes and easily knocked down all of the employees without killing them.

To their horror, all of the doors on the cases opened simultaneously.

What came out of them was very difficult to describe. They all looked like masses of flesh that were trying to be human but fell just short of achieving that goal. Then they started to release various kagunes that were surprisingly well-formed for such misshapen human experiments.

"Corie, run!" Kaneki yelled, knowing she wouldn't be able to fight these things without her kagune. "Find Kanou!"

Not arguing with the appointed leader of their group, Corie rushed through the halls and away from the ensuing fight. She prayed she didn't run into anymore of those mutated lumps of flesh or she was going to have to put her powers of evasion to the ultimate test.

The same maniacal giggle they had heard earlier echoed throughout the hall again.

Corie froze.

At the end of the hall, she could see a familiar black mass blocking her way.

"So you survived," the figure laughed. "You're tougher than I gave you credit for."

She recognized that voice. She'd fought him before, hadn't she?

The figure stepped forward into the light, his white hair standing out against his black hood and darkened lips.

"Why are you here?" she asked him. "Why did you go after Kaneki before?"

"I do whatever Eto tells me to do. She gives the orders."

"You know Eto?"

"Yeah."

"I need to find her."

"Tough luck. She isn't someone you can just reach out to whenever you want. She comes to you when she needs something from you."

"What does she need from you?"

"To guard this place in case people like you come searching for things you're not supposed to find."

Corie pressed her lips together. Why she did know this person? It wasn't just because she saved Sasaki from him. She knew him before that. But where?

Her eyes widened as it hit her and she took a step forward. "I know you."

"Yeah, we've already established that."

"No…I mean I've seen you before. Back before…all of this. You used to be an investigator, right?"

The ghoul's maniacal smile slowly disappeared and his eyebrows creased together.

"The night of the Owl Extermination Operation, I saved you from Tatara. I don't understand. What…what happened to you?"

"You…were that ghoul?" he asked softly. "Why did you do that?"

Corie sighed, recalling one of the worst nights of her life. "I tend to act on the emotion I'm feeling at the current moment without thinking about the consequences. I saw how scared you were as you tried to fight the other ghouls. Even if I'm not supposed to side with the Doves, it didn't seem right for another person to needlessly lose their life that night. I also really hate Tatara and Aogiri Tree, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

The ghoul quieted, unable to believe that the infamous Lightning he'd been warned about had been the same one to save him years ago.

"What's your name?"

"…Takizawa. Seidou Takizawa."

"What happened to you?"

"It was Noro. He ambushed me right after you left. I thought he killed me, but I woke up and saw Dr. Kanou. He did something to me that made me more ghoul than human. Then to strengthen my RC cells, he subjected me to endless torture over and over and over _and over and over_!" Takizawa put his hands to his head to try to block out the horrendous memories.

"Hey!" Corie exclaimed putting her hand to his shoulders. "…Is that how you became like this?"

"Yeah."

"He shattered your mind."

"Yeah."

"I'm…I'm so sorry. After I dealt with Tatara, I should've made sure that other ghouls weren't in the area."

'Sorry'. That was a word he hadn't heard in so long except when someone told him he was a 'sorry' excuse for a human and a ghoul. He had forgotten what it felt like to have someone take pity on him. To _want _to help him. To save him.

"Why are you helping Kanou after he did all this to you?"

"He works with Eto. And I told you, she makes the rules."

"Why are you helping either of them?"

Takizawa paused. Why _was_ he helping them? What was he getting out of this deal? After everything that he'd gone through, his mind had been lost and he'd sort of just ended up finding himself under Eto's command.

"We're looking for Kanou. Help us find him, and I promise you that I will help you make him pay for what he has done to you."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Me, and some other people from what used to be Anteiku. And Kaneki."

"Kaneki? I thought he was Sasaki now."

"He was. But he got all his memories back."

Takizawa's eyes quickly clouded over with rage. "Kaneki…he was Kanou's successful experiment. Everything I did was never enough because Kaneki was the best one. Kaneki, Kaneki, _Kaneki_!"

"Takizawa!" Corie exclaimed. "Does Kanou's opinion really matter to you? It doesn't matter if Kaneki is this or that or whatever. All that matters is that _you_ are who _you_ are. No one else has a say in what makes you good or bad or anything. The only person who decides that is you."

Takizawa looked away from her.

"Did you know that the only reason Kanou considers Kaneki to be successful is because he was tortured too?"

The ghoul's brow furrowed further. "He…he was?"

Corie nodded. "By the ghoul known as Yamori."

"Wait, I remember…I remember you telling Tatara you…you killed him."

The woman smiled a little. "Yeah, but it wasn't just me. Kaneki did most of the work, I just delivered the finishing blow. See, Kaneki's kind of become like my little brother. And let's just say I don't take kindly to people who hurt my family."

"Yeah, I saw that the last time we fought. What did Yamori do to him?"

"What didn't he do? He told me that Yamori injected RC suppressant through a needle in his eye, he continuously ripped off his fingers and toes, he let a centipede crawl inside his ear, and he forced him to choose between saving a mother or her child. When he couldn't decide, Yamori killed them both." She looked at him sadly. "What did Kanou do to you?"

"He sawed off my arms and legs and then let them grow back just so he could saw them off again."

Corie shook her head in disbelief. In a world where there lived beings that had to eat human flesh just to survive, she questioned who the real monster was.

"I've been tortured too," she said softly.

"You have?"

"Not as long as you, and certainly not to that extent, but yes. I managed to infiltrate the CCG, and when they found out, they tortured me for information even though I'd already told them everything they needed to know."

"Who was it?"

"Um, some guy named Jiro Kimura."

"Hate that guy."

"You know him?"

"We crossed paths a couple of times. He always had this really weird vibe, and he gave me the creeps." He laughed humorlessly and gestured to himself. "I guess that's pretty ironic now, isn't it?"

"Kanou deserves to die for what he has done," she said firmly. "Come with us, and I will help you make that happen."

Takizawa pulled the hood off his head. "Why do you want to help me?"

"The same reason I helped you back then. Besides, we have a common enemy, don't we? And two ghouls are better than one."

He pursed his lips, considering her offer.

Just when he was about to say something, a voice called, "Corie!"

She turned to find Kaneki and the rest of the group running down the hall to join her. This probably didn't look good, especially since Kaneki had nearly died by Takizawa's hand a few months ago.

Corie quickly stepped in front of Takizawa protectively. "Hold your fire!" she exclaimed when she saw their exposed kakugans and kagunes. "He's with us." She turned back to face Takizawa. "At least, I hope he is."

Takizawa gave a barely discernible nod.

Corie looked back to the others. "Kanou did the same thing to him that he did to Kaneki…but worse. He subjected him to torture for months to strengthen his RC cells and make him better than Kaneki."

Kaneki visibly winced, painfully reminded of his time with Yamori. Everyone allowed their kagunes to disappear.

"He's going to help us find him and Eto. She and the doctor are working together."

"Why?" Kaneki asked.

The rage and anger Takizawa had previously felt towards Kaneki slowly seemed to dissolve when he realized that the supposed 'success' had actually not had it all that easy either. "Eto wants more one-eyed ghouls and Kanou is the only one who can make them."

"Who's kakuhou is he using for the transplants?"

"I don't know."

Corie felt her stomach flip. "So all those cases in the chamber…those were his failed attempts at creating half-ghouls."

Takizawa nodded grimly. "He calls them 'floppies'."

"Where did he get that many bodies?" Touka asked.

"From the Owl Extermination Operation. And all operations afterward where there were casualties."

"Is he here now?"

"No. He knew you guys were coming so he took all the important things and people to a new location. But I have no idea where they've gone. They wouldn't tell me."

"Are there any more experiments here?" Corie asked him.

"There's one more chamber with just as many floppies." A look of realization crossed his face. "There's someone here you need to help."

"Who?"

"Come with me."

Everyone kept their guards up, still rather distrusting of someone who worked for Kanou and Eto only a few minutes ago.

Mere seconds after they began traversing down the hallway, they all heard discordant footsteps and eerie groaning.

"Takizawa," Corie said softly. "Didn't you say there was another chamber of floppies?"

"…Yes."

"Are there more employees working here that we haven't seen yet?"

"…Yes."

From behind them, more of the failed human/ghoul hybrids appeared, gaining on them rather quickly. Corie was surprised that they could move so fast for being considered 'failures'.

"Kaneki, you, Corie, and Takizawa go ahead," Touka ordered. "We'll take care of these things."

"Be careful, you guys," Kaneki told them as he squeezed Touka's hand.

"You don't need to worry about us."

Kaneki grabbed Corie's hand and rushed down the hall after Takizawa.

Tsukiyama put his hand to his forehead. "Such poor creatures. Stuck in such an ugly state." His kagune wrapped around his arm and sharpened at the end. "I shall relieve you of your misery!"

Tsukiyama, Touka, Yomo, Irimi, and Koma quickly engaged the floppies in a fierce battle despite being drained from the other fight just moments before.

Kaneki, Corie, and Takizawa found themselves in a smaller chamber than the last one. There were several large tanks against the walls, but it was too cloudy to see what was inside them.

"Are these more floppies?" Corie asked.

"One of them is," Takizawa answered. "That's who I was talking about."

"Who is it?"

Before he could answer, a female employee walked into the room and froze when she saw the intruders.

She dropped everything she was holding, slammed her fist onto a red button on the wall, and ran back out of the room.

One of the tanks burst open and someone stepped out. He looked much different than the other floppies they had seen. This one looked very much human aside from the large kagune extending near his shoulder.

Kaneki and Corie looked at him in surprise.

"That's Investigator Amon," Kaneki said.

"I did not see this coming."

"Kanou snatched him up after the Owl Operation," Takizawa explained quickly. "But his RC count surged too high during the experiments and messed with his mind. I don't even know if he registers who we are."

Amon's kagune whipped towards them, and they all maneuvered out of its path.

"I don't think so," Corie said. "What do we do?"

"Stay back!" Kaneki told her.

"What?!"

"He's right," Takizawa added. "You won't be able to help me pay back Kanou if you die first."

Reluctantly, Corie backed away from the three of them to allow Kaneki and Takizawa to fight the former investigator.

This was beyond frustrating, and (she wasn't going to lie) a little demeaning. Before she had lost her kagune, Corie had been an expert fighter in all situations and was usually the one to rush in and save the day when people were in trouble. To have that ability taken away from her once again reminded her that she was essentially useless now.

To their shock and horror, Amon's kagune grew three sizes and then separated into four separate pieces.

Just how had he managed that? Even more experienced ghouls couldn't pull that off!

Kaneki and Takizawa blocked his attacks for a little while, but it was clear that they were outmatched. The problem was that they didn't want to kill him but he had no problem killing them.

One of the kagune pieces knocked Takizawa onto the floor and then proceeded to crush him with one blow.

He cried out in agonizing pain while Corie could only watch in horror.

She flinched when another kagune piece smacked Kaneki into the wall with enough force to knock him out.

"Kaneki!" she screamed.

Amon morphed the kagune pieces into one and then hit Kaneki as hard as he could.

Something inside of Corie snapped. She could feel every muscle in her body aching as power surged through her all at once.

She knelt over at the waist and let out a powerful scream as all of the energy building up inside her exited her back.

When she stood upright again, she looked behind her in disbelief. Not only had her kagune come back after all this time, but her purple and black tentacles had molded together and increased in size so that she had two very large tentacles instead of four small ones.

She looked back at Amon and let out a fierce yell as she threw her tentacles towards him. He blocked the first and second strike, but he couldn't block the torrent of strikes that followed.

With another cry, Corie morphed her kagune into one giant tentacle and slammed him onto the ground. He fell unconscious and his kagune slowly dissolved.

Corie panted heavily, allowing her tentacles to separate into the four normal-sized ones.

"Corie?" Kaneki said as he sat up. "I think you got your kagune back."

Corie laughed lightly and helped him up off the floor. "You okay?"

"I'll live."

They both went over to Takizawa and helped him up. One of his legs had bent into a very disturbing angle, but he simply hit it with one arm and it fell back into place with a sickening crack. After a few mere seconds, his leg had already healed.

"After you heal yourself multiple times, injuries like this are nothing."

Corie preferred not to think about how he had gained that ability.

Tsukiyama, Touka, Yomo, Irimi, and Koma walked into the room, all of them covered in various bodily fluids from fighting the floppies. There was no telling how much of it was their own.

"Hey, isn't that a Dove?" Touka asked when she saw Amon's unconscious form.

"Yeah, his name's Amon," Kaneki told her.

Corie knelt down next to him. "What do we do with him now?"

After a bit of silence, Touka said, "I know where he can go."


	22. Amon Awakens

**_Corie=27_**

**_Kaneki=22_**

Underneath :re, there were multiple rooms Yomo and Touka had prepared when they first built up the coffee shop. They weren't in any blueprints and no one except the two of them knew they even existed. They had wanted to have a place where ghouls who needed an escape could go when the Doves were hunting them. There was a secret door in the shop to get to them and another entrance that led to the tunnels so ghouls could come and go without being seen.

That was where they decided to keep Amon for the time being.

They extended the offer to Takizawa, but he insisted that it was better for everyone if he made sure there was some space between them. He told them that he would just feel trapped in the tiny rooms beneath the café, and he didn't want Eto to use him to get to any of the :re squad.

Corie decided to move down into one of the rooms so she could watch over Amon and ensure that he didn't go crazy if and when he woke up.

Sometimes, she sat in his room for several hours and watched him sleep, waiting for any other sign of life. There was something endearing about seeing him calm for the first time in her life as he slept. She wondered if would ever be able to be this calm again once he learned what had happened to him.

It seemed difficult to believe that the very investigator who had battled her and Kaneki just two years ago had now become the very thing he had fought to kill for the last several years.

She couldn't understand why she wasn't angry at him. She should hate him. Not only was he a former Dove, but he was also the one to kill Ryoko and he nearly killed Hinami for no other reason than that they were ghouls. Why did she want to continue helping him?

Unsurprisingly, it was several days before there was any change.

Corie was just cleaning up some things in his room when she heard a soft groan. She quickly turned around and saw the former investigator slowly sitting up.

"Hey," she said quietly, keeping her distance. She didn't want to make any sudden movements for fear he would take that as an attack and go crazy with his kagune again. "How are you feeling?"

Amon put his hand to his aching head and cleared his throat. "Like I've been obliterated by a ghoul."

Corie awkwardly fiddled with the end of her long hair. "Yeah, uh, sorry. In my defense, I didn't know I could use my kagune, but I didn't mean to go so hard on you."

Amon finally looked up at her. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"My name is Corie. You're safe underneath a café."

He looked her up and down curiously. "You're…you're a ghoul, aren't you?"

After a small pause, Corie slowly nodded. She cautiously took a step towards him. "If it's all right…I'd like you to tell me what happened to you after the night of the Owl Operation."

Did this woman know that he used to be an investigator? She didn't really _seem_ angry or afraid of him…but he knew all too well that looks could be deceiving.

"To be honest, I don't remember a whole lot," he said without looking at her. "I remember waking up inside a cell next to someone I used to work with. I couldn't see him, but I could hear the things they did to him. We'd been put through some horrible operation to make us half-ghouls. The next thing I knew, I couldn't eat regular food and I had developed a kakugan. I refused to eat anything they served me, but they…strapped me down and force-fed me. They needed to keep me alive for some reason."

Corie rubbed her bottom lip with her index finger as she listened to his story. She wasn't sure how to process this. What she did know was that even if she hadn't made that promise to Takizawa, she was going to make sure Kanou paid dearly for what he had done to so many innocent people.

"Everything after that is kind of a blur. I remember hearing someone yell that my RC count was too high, and then it's all just blank."

"Well, you're safe here, I promise. Hardly anyone knows about this place, and the few who do are people you can trust."

"How long has it been since that operation?"

Corie paused. "Two and a half years."

Amon didn't respond as he swallowed thickly. It had been that long since that awful night? Had the CCG assumed he had been a casualty? What about all of his former comrades? Who was still alive and who wasn't? What had all happened since then?

Things changed dramatically at the CCG in a matter of weeks. How much had changed in _two years_?

"Get some rest. I'll bring you some coffee. Eventually, you will have to eat something, but that should hold you over for now."

He couldn't understand why someone like her was helping someone like him, but he was too tired to protest.

Corie paused at the door and turned around. "You know…I'd always wondered what would happen if an investigator found out what it was like to live as a ghoul. But I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I'm sorry."

She shut the door behind her, leaving Amon alone in stunned silence.

* * *

The next day after Amon had received some proper rest and his body had had more time to heal, Corie knocked on the door and stepped inside. She put a large paper bag on the small table.

"Here, Touka went out and bought some clothes for you. She had to guess your size, but I think they'll fit. Get dressed and then come out. I'm going to teach you how to use your kagune."

She waited outside the room while Amon changed out of the poorly-fitting clothes given to him during his time as an experiment.

He cautiously stepped out of the room dressed in loose pants and a hoodie, and Corie wordlessly led him down to the tunnels through the secret exit out of the café.

Amon took note of the path they took and realized how useful this information would be in an operation if he could get it to his comrades.

Almost immediately, he felt guilty for thinking such a thing. Even if he could get word to his former comrades and they _didn't _absolutely panic when they learned what had been done to him, he couldn't do something like that.

This woman in front of him had broken him out of the lab of a deranged doctor, watched over him until he awoke and treated him with kindness when he did despite any of her personal feelings, and had even gotten new clothes for him. Was he really so heartless that he would lead a raid to slaughter the ghouls residing here after what they'd done to help him?

They soon found themselves in the same training space where Corie had worked with Kaneki so long ago. Amon remained wary around her, still not fully convinced that she wasn't going to kill him as retribution for everything the investigators had undoubtedly done to her.

"Didn't I nearly kill you when you first found me?" Amon asked. "You don't need to teach me how to use this thing."

"Do you even remember what you did?" Corie said as she continued walking.

Amon started to answer and then stopped.

"Exactly. It's one thing to use kagune in the state you were in," she explained. "It's another thing to have total control over it without losing your mind to it." She turned around to face him. "You're an ukaku and I'm a rinkaku, so I can teach you the general things that apply to all ghouls no matter the RC type, but if you want to learn the specifics, you're going to have to ask Touka, Irimi, or Yomo. Good luck with that."

"I don't know who these people are."

"Yes, you do. But you only know them by their ghoul aliases."

"Did I know you?"

Corie covered the lower half of her face with her two hands. "'We meet again. I admire your tenacity'." She smirked a little as she lowered her hands. "I still do."

Amon's expression didn't change, but his heart skipped a beat. He recognized her. He'd seen her several times during his time as an investigator. He had tried to kill her repeatedly, and yet she had not retaliated, or at least not so much that she had injured him. She would just calmly run off before the fight got too intense, saying that she couldn't die yet.

It was strange to see her now and even stranger to have a name and a face to the ghoul he had fought. This whole situation felt incredibly bizarre and plain _wrong_. A part of him wondered if he was still stuck inside that awful lab and this was just an incredibly vivid hallucination.

"I wasn't prominent enough for the CCG to give me an alias, at least back then," Corie continued, breaking Amon out of his train of thought. "Recently, I had gotten the name 'Lightning', but I was outed so I now have a new mask and I need to get a new name. Well…I'll try to get one whenever I get back out there. That's not going to be for a while though."

Amon didn't know what to say. Putting a real name and face to a ghoul suddenly…changed everything. He didn't know what to think or do.

"I've taught several people in the past, so I know what I'm doing. You'll probably be easier to teach since you have a lot of actual combat experience behind you." She gave him a dry smile. "And believe it or not, I have experience teaching people who used to be human how to be ghouls."

"What does that mean?"

"I'll explain it later."

Corie went over to the wall and removed her sweatshirt to reveal her black tank top beneath.

This time, Amon's eyes widened a little.

Her back and shoulders had multiple scars of varying length and width.

"How…how did you get those?"

Corie turned back to face him. "There are some wounds even ghouls can't heal from."

He couldn't imagine what kind of injury she must've sustained in order to receive a scar that even her regenerative powers couldn't take care of. And to have that many…?

"Get into fighting stance."

Amon too removed his hoodie.

What Corie wasn't prepared for was just how large his arms were. Every time she had seen him in the past, including the last several days, he'd always been covered with either armor, a trench coat, or just a long-sleeved shirt. And considering that they had each tried to kill each other nearly every time they crossed paths, it was understandable she wasn't exactly focusing on his physique.

She was a little surprised that his muscles hadn't completely deteriorated after all this time, but she guessed that being trapped in some sort of stasis while inside the glass case had allowed him to keep his incredibly muscular stature.

This was new territory.

But she'd been trained to not have distractions during fights, and today was not going to be any exception.

"Can you release your kagune on your own?" she asked.

Amon focused all his energy into his new muscles and managed to release his kagune from his shoulder. It was much smaller than their last fight, but that was to be expected since he was actually in his right mind now.

Suddenly, a purple and black tentacle knocked him off his feet and sent him into the wall.

"What was that?!" he demanded as he stood up. "I had just barely gotten it out!"

"You're right, and it was nice of me to let you get that far. I don't have to tell you that ghouls aren't going to wait for you to get into a good position. Go again."

With little control over his kagune, Amon once again fell when Corie's tentacles came for him. She was even faster than he remembered!

"So that's how it is," he growled. "You're trying to kill me after all."

"You haven't changed a bit. If I wanted to kill you, wouldn't I have done it while you were unconscious?"

"You ghouls live for the fight."

"We took you out of Kanou's horrific lab, brought you somewhere safe, gave you some new clothes, I'm helping you train, and you _still_ think we're the bad guys?"

When she phrased it like that, it was enough to make Amon pause. That was a mistake because she knocked him off his feet yet again.

"Get up. Go again. Focus on keeping your head straight. Feel your muscles working in your back and shoulder and use them to manipulate your kagune to get it to do what you want it to."

_Crack_!

"Again."

_Crack_!

"Again."

Amon soon reluctantly saw that she wasn't in fact trying to kill him. She was indeed beating him to a pulp, but that was her way of teaching him. It was how most of the investigators were trained at the CCG too, just against quinques rather than kagunes.

His short temper allowed him to quickly gain enough control to block her blows enough so that he didn't keep getting knocked over. After the fiftieth time, it was just downright humiliating.

They went at it for the next four hours until both of them were dripping in sweat from head to toe. It took a while for Amon to be able to do more than just block Corie's tentacles, but as she continued to attack him, he watched her and learned different ways to maneuver out of her path and inflict damage of his own.

He definitely picked it up a heck of a lot quicker than Kaneki had.

"All right, let's stop for today."

The two of them let their kagunes dissolve and Amon fell to the ground panting. In all his years as an investigator, he wasn't sure he had ever been through so much physically before in his life.

Even that one night doing thousands of push-ups on Akira's balcony didn't compare to this and that was saying something.

It made sense since half of his strength was focused on keeping his kagune under control and the other half tried to keep up with it.

"Anyone…ever told you…you're an impossible teacher?" he bit out.

Corie smiled. "Yeah, and I take pride in that." She walked over to him and held out her hand. "Come on. We'll get you something to eat. That should help you feel better."

Amon paused for a moment before slowly accepting her hand.

He felt a little queasy at the idea of eating, but he supposed he was just going to have to get over it. This was his life now, and he may as well just accept it. It would only be harder the longer he tried to deny it.

The two of them started towards the stairs to get back inside the coffee shop, Amon trying his absolute hardest not limp.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because you need it," Corie told him as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"But I don't understand. I've constantly tried to kill you. I'm sure I've hurt someone close to you. You're supposed to hate me."

"Why are you the one who gets to tell me how I'm supposed to feel?"

Amon awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I…I didn't mean…"

She turned to look him straight in the eye which was a little difficult considering he towered over her. "My mom and dad were killed by investigators. But my brother was killed by another ghoul. I have reason to hate both sides. But where would that get me? I know that not all humans are like the ones who killed my parents and not all ghouls are like the one who killed my brother."

Amon was taken aback for the hundredth time in a few hours. Neither her eyes nor her voice held any trace of malice towards him. She was simply explaining things like a parent would to a child who had done something wrong.

All the ghouls he'd ever had contact with had hardened themselves to the world and did not hesitate to take their anger out on the souls they consumed.

Or maybe…that was just he had wanted to see.

"There are some people I'm never going to be able to forgive. But…I can't hate an entire group of people based on the actions of a few. Wouldn't that level of resentment get pretty exhausting?"

He'd had that level of resentment almost his entire life. After the trauma he'd endured at the orphanage, he felt it was just easier to close himself off and harden his heart towards ghouls. It would make it easier to eradicate them. They deserved it. They were the ones twisting this world.

But…what she was saying was true. Holding onto all of that pain and anger had sucked the life out of him. It made him a better investigator, but…was it even worth it?

"I should hate you," she continued. "To be honest, I'm not totally sure why I don't. Maybe it's because I feel sorry for you. Maybe it's because I have a soft spot for half-ghouls. Maybe it's because you don't seem like the same person who murdered a little girl's mother right in front of her. Maybe it's because in all the times we fought, you never really seemed like a heartless killer. You seemed like you were mad at the world and you were taking it out on us."

Amon winced, painfully reminded of the whole Fueguchi case so many years ago. Had he really been so callous and hardened towards an entire race that he had been willing to slaughter a mother and daughter simply because of who they were?

And moreover, why did this woman…seem to understand him more than anyone he had ever met when they weren't even the same species?

"Amon, I know that what you've been through is changing views you've had your entire life. I'll sit down and talk with you and answer any questions you have about me and ghouls and the way we live, and I'll teach you anything you want to know about how to live like one of us." She gave a sad smile. "Kaneki always said that if humans and ghouls would just sit and talk, they could learn to understand each other."

"Kaneki…he's the Eyepatch ghoul, right?"

"Yeah. I'll have to catch you up on everything with both him and the CCG. A lot has happened since the Owl Operation. The coffee shop is closed now, so I'll teach you how to brew a good batch. You're gonna need to know that more than ever before."

She started to lead the way up to the coffee shop while Amon nervously followed.

Corie stopped halfway up the stairs. "You know," she said as she turned her head, "however you may feel about ghouls, it was a human who did this to you."


	23. Aftermath

**_Corie=25-26_**

**_Kaneki=? ?_**

Assuming nothing happened to her during the battle, Corie had planned to hide out at Touka's apartment afterward until she figured out a more solid plan.

Her legs barely keep her up, she managed to stumble inside. Blood covered the entire frontside of her body, and her clothing had been torn in several places.

"Corie?" Touka exclaimed as she rushed to the door. She ran over to the young woman as Corie collapsed into her arms. "Hey. Tell me what happened!"

Corie held onto the girl as she let out sobs and gasps that wracked her body and rang out into the otherwise empty living space. Touka wasn't sure she had ever seen her like this, and that really scared her.

If only Yomo had let her just _help_.

"Corie, breathe. Tell me what happened tonight."

"…dead…Uncle Yoshimura…he's dead."

Even though Touka knew that her beloved boss had planned on dying tonight, it still killed her to hear that.

"So…so many ghouls are dead…so many died."

"What about Irimi and Koma?"

"I-I don't know. I haven't heard from them. So many of them were dead. Hundreds. Piled up."

Touka was no stranger to gruesome sights, but even she couldn't imagine seeing hundreds of ghouls slaughtered like that. No wonder Corie was a mess.

"And…and Kaneki…"

No. No, not Kaneki. He wasn't supposed to be there. That _idiot_.

"Arima…he killed him. Kaneki is…he's dead."

Touka bit her lip so hard that it almost began bleeding. She hated Yomo. She hadn't ever felt so much anger towards a person before which was saying a lot considering how much anger she felt all the time. If he had let her go, she could've saved him. She could've saved everyone. She wouldn't have had to lose anyone else. Especially not him.

Corie began quickly gathering up her few belongings. "I need to go," she said frantically. "I can't be here. I need to get out. I have to go. I have to go. I have to get out of here. I can't be here."

Just as she started to the door, Touka grabbed her arm. "Wait. Corie, please, don't. Don't leave."

Corie closed her eyes and felt two more tears join the other hundreds. Touka had never begged her for anything. She needed her.

But Corie wasn't so sure she had ever felt more suffocated. It felt as if the entire world was closing in on her. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. All she knew was that she had to get out.

Without another glance, Corie took her arm out of her grasp and left the apartment out into the falling snow.

Corie began running. She ran and ran and ran as if she could somehow outrun the awful feelings swirling around inside her.

A piece of uneven ground caused her to trip and fall. The snow both on the ground and falling from the sky seeped through her torn clothing and made her shiver. Instead of getting up, she curled up into a ball and sobbed. She didn't care if another ghoul saw her or if she simply froze to death here. She couldn't move.

"Corie," a serene voice broke through her inner turmoil.

Someone gently lifted her up and made her stand again.

Tears continued to run down her frozen face, and she wondered when she would be out of them. The cold air surrounded her and allowed her to see her frantic breaths in the small clouds that exited her mouth.

She turned and saw that Yomo had been the one to help her up. He put a jacket around her to warm her up and cover all of the blood.

He looked at her seriously. "You can't leave. Not this time. You're needed here. Touka needs you right now. Hinami needs you."

If anyone knew how she was feeling, it was Yomo. She knew he had lost a sister at Arima's hands several years ago.

For the briefest moment, she considered letting him take her back to Touka's apartment so they could figure out what to do now that Anteiku had been destroyed.

But within seconds, the overwhelming suffocating feeling returned and she couldn't breathe again. If she didn't get out soon, she was going to break.

"I have to go," she whispered.

She turned and resumed running. She ran the entire long way to the airport and stood outside as the snow drenched her hair and clothes.

This was her last chance. She could turn around and go back. She could face this head-on with the others.

Corie closed her eyes, felt two final tears drip down her cheeks, and walked inside the airport.

* * *

There was a knock on Corie's apartment door. "Hey, Corie?"

No answer.

"Look, Corie, I know something must've happened. Will you please let me in? I just want to talk with you."

The young man looked around to ensure that no one could see him. Then he released his green bikaku kagune and sharpened the end of it to fit inside the keyhole. The lock clicked and the door opened. He made his kagune and kakugan disappear.

"Corie?"

He sighed when he saw his friend curled up in bed unresponsive. She looked terrible and somehow, her small studio apartment was a complete mess despite the fact that she'd only been here for a couple weeks and didn't own very much.

The young man took a seat on her bed. "What happened?"

"How'd you get in here, Matthias?" she asked so softly that he almost couldn't hear her.

"Ghouls can do anything if they try hard enough. What's going on? I've never seen you like this before."

"I lost someone."

"We lose people every day. What makes this one so special?"

"He was my brother."

"What do you mean? Reo died years ago."

Corie sat up, her eyes glassy. "Technically, he wasn't my real brother, but he felt like it. I've never felt so close to someone. You should've seen the way we could fight. I helped train him to use his rinkaku kagune, and it was…amazing to fight someone who was so much like me."

"So he became like your brother just because the guy could fight well?"

"No. It was…the way he saw me. He looked up to me, and I had someone to protect again. Someone I could fight for. We needed each other. We both filled this void that we didn't even know we had. It was almost as if we were each other's missing half."

"You sound like you're in love with him."

"Oh, gross, I don't even want to imagine that."

Matthias chuckled softly before becoming serious again. "How'd he die?"

"There was a huge battle between ghouls and investigators. So many people died that night. Hundreds. On both sides. My uncle was one of them."

"Geez, Corie, I'm sorry."

"But Kaneki…"

"Kaneki's the guy who was like your brother?"

Corie nodded. "He wasn't supposed to die that night. He wasn't supposed to be involved in any of this. He…he's not even a real ghoul."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He was turned into a ghoul by this insane doctor. He was human a year ago."

"Holy. Crap. I didn't even know that was possible."

"It shouldn't be. Then he would still be alive. He had been through so much more than anyone, human or ghoul, should have to go through. He did nothing to deserve it either."

She ran a hand through her hair. It felt greasy and stringy seeing as she hadn't taken a shower in longer than she cared to admit.

"The whole reason I went to university here and then traveled to all those other countries was so that I could make sure that what happened to Reo wouldn't happen again. But it was all pointless. I couldn't stop him from dying. I couldn't protect anyone that night."

Matthias sighed heavily. There really wasn't anything he could say to make this situation any less awful, and both of them knew it. He knew what it was like to lose family as he'd lost his mother to American investigators when he was ten.

But that was the only family he'd lost. He still had his father, and unlike Corie, he didn't have other family to lose. He didn't have siblings or an uncle. He had close friends he would die for, but none that felt closer to him than family. It seemed like every time she gave her heart to someone, something kept snatching them away. He didn't know how much more people she could lose before she just crumbled.

Matthias gently rubbed her arm. "I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now."

"Losing Kaneki…it didn't feel like losing Reo even though they were both brothers to me. Losing him…felt like I lost everything in me that I had left after Reo died. And I don't know if I'm ever going to be okay again."

"Healing is a pretty rough process. Let me help you just take a couple baby steps, okay? We can get you into the shower and some clothes. We'll get a good meal inside you. And we'll get your place cleaned up. But we'll do all of that later. For now, let's just go out and do something tonight."

"Like what?"

"You want to go on a hunt? We found this really seedy place where you can always find some action. You can pretend that person is the investigator who killed Kaneki. Or anyone else who made his life hell."

"I appreciate the thought, but I did that after Reo died, and I just felt worse. You know what I really want to do?"

"Name it. We'll do it."

"I really want to get super drunk."

Matthias sighed. "We can't drink alcohol."

"Well, yeah, but…" Corie stopped and looked at him. "No way. You don't know."

"What?"

She put her hand to his head. "Oh, my sweet, innocent young man. Come on. We're going to go find a bar."

"But I just said—"

"I know what you said. Just come on." She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Hey, Itori, I need a big favor."

* * *

Corie stepped into the little café Touka and Yomo had built. She looked around and smiled a little. "This place is perfect," she remarked to the girl behind the counter. "My uncle would be very proud."

Touka smiled back, but she couldn't help but notice how…tired her friend looked. Even being away from Tokyo for a whole year hadn't been enough to completely get her back to her old self. "It's good to see you again, Corie. We've really missed you."

"Yeah, I've missed you guys too. How have things been?"

"Um…maybe we should talk in the back."

Confused, Corie followed the two owners to one of the back rooms which looked pretty similar to how it had been at Anteiku. She sat down on one of the couches, a littler unnerved by Touka's expression.

"Yomo and I cleaned out Kaneki's apartment last year," Touka started. "We kept a couple things to have around the shop, but I thought you might want this."

She handed Corie the boy's black hoodie he had frequently worn when they trained together. Corie hugged the sweatshirt close to her, her eyes pricking with tears. There were no words to truly express how much she really missed him.

I don't really know how to tell you this, so I'll just say it," Touka continued. "Kaneki…is alive."

Corie was pretty sure all of the blood in her body stopped moving at one time because she suddenly didn't know how to move or breathe. "That's…impossible," she croaked. "I saw him die. For the last year, every time I close my eyes, I see him lying on the ground with his eyes gouged out. I left him with Arima. Arima doesn't let ghouls live!"

"Well, he's not dead, but—"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"Because…he's not exactly…Kaneki anymore."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He's inside the CCG."

Corie sprang up from the couch. "What?! Then what are we doing standing here? We have to go get him!"

"No, Corie, listen. It's not that simple. He's an investigator now who goes by Sasaki. And…he doesn't remember anything prior to the Anteiku battle."

All of the euphoria Corie had previously felt suddenly vanished so quickly that it left her head spinning and her body aching. "You mean…he doesn't remember anything? Anteiku, Yoshimura, you? He doesn't remember…me?"

"I mean, he's come in here a couple times before, and I feel like I can see just the faintest bit of recognition but I'm not completely sure."

"You mean to tell me that he's working with people who previously attempted to slaughter him and you're okay with it?!"

"Of course I'm not okay with it! But this is his life now, and we can't just go in kagune flying and take him away from it when he doesn't even know who we are."

"We cannot trust them to protect him! Because they don't trust him! What if he loses control of his kagune? What if he suddenly gets all of his memories back? They will _kill_ him if that happens!"

"Corie—"

Corie quickly left the café, unwilling to listen to anymore. She climbed up onto the rooftops and raced towards the CCG headquarters.

Touka was wrong. She had to be wrong. Kaneki, or Sasaki or whatever, would recognize her. He had to.

Sitting upon a high perch away from prying investigator eyes, she slipped on Kaneki's old hoodie. For the first time in a year, she had a small piece of him again. She hugged herself as if that would make her feel closer to him.

Then she waited and waited.

Finally, she saw a familiar face exit the building, and she thought that the rapid alternating feelings of euphoria and despair were going to cause her heart to burst.

He really was alive. She didn't know how exactly those horrific wounds hadn't killed him or why Arima had let him live or why he was now working at the CCG of all places, but none of that mattered.

He was alive.

She hopped down from the building where no one could see her, and then she walked onto the sidewalk. The young man with white and black hair glanced at her, nodded his head with a polite hello, and then continued walking with three other people in similar dress following behind him.

Corie felt her legs wobble. She wasn't sure what was more painful: cradling Kaneki's dead body in her arms or having him look her right in the eye and not recognizing her.

Unable to stop tears from rolling down her cheeks, she quickly walked all the way down to HySy.

"Hey, Cor," Uta greeted. "I didn't realize you were back." He looked up and noticed her tear-stained face. "What's wrong?"

A strong and determined fire lit up Corie's eyes for the first time since the night of the battle for Anteiku. "Uta…I'm going to need your help."


	24. Revelations

**_Corie=27_**

**_Kaneki=22_**

After Amon's first kagune training session with Corie, the two of them stayed up all night in the coffee shop brewing cups of coffee until Amon made a batch that was actually somewhat drinkable.

Being with him like this reminded her of how her uncle had taught her and her brother all about making coffee when they first began working at the café. It seemed like an entire lifetime ago now. She had been an angry and traumatized 13-year-old girl who just wanted her parents back, and Reo really hadn't been much better.

But much like making a good cup of coffee, her uncle was patient with the two children and took the time to let them heal on their own while also making sure they didn't do something they would regret.

As she taught Amon how to make good coffee, she explained to him more about her relationship with Kaneki, what had happened to him after the Owl Operation, and how she had infiltrated the CCG in order to help him. She then told him that she and Kaneki were trying to find out more about Kanou and the One-Eyed Owl so they could put a stop to the creation of half-ghouls. She didn't tell him that the two Owls were her cousin and uncle because she worried that he might resent her which wouldn't be good as she currently was the only one with the time and desire to help him adjust to his new life. If he refused her help and tried to figure things out on his own, someone would end up getting killed whether it was himself or someone else by accident.

It was all clearly a lot for him to take in, and she tried to go slow, but he needed to know everything that was going on if he wanted to help both humans and ghouls.

When morning came, they cleaned up the quite large mess they'd made before Touka had a complete fit at the state of her café. Then they headed back down to the safety of the rooms below the building to get some sleep after their all-nighter.

Later that night, Touka came down to Corie's room and leaned against the doorframe. "I don't understand why you insist on staying down here."

"If he goes berserk again, I want to be the first to know," Corie answered.

"It's not like we couldn't take care of him. You could stay in the room upstairs."

"It's not safe for me up there. There's too many possibilities of someone seeing me. At least for now, it's better for everyone if I'm down here."

"Whatever."

"I could ask you why you decided to let him stay here. You hate Doves more than anyone."

Touka fiddled with the end of her short hair. "Guess even I'm not totally heartless."

Corie put her hand to her ear. "Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"It's the sound of hell freezing over."

"Oh, shut up."

Corie laughed. "Come here."

Touka walked over and sat on her bed next to her, her back against the wall.

"Are you doing okay, you know, with Kaneki getting his memories back and everything?"

"I guess…as much as I can be anyway. I don't really know how I'm feeling."

"Story of our lives. Hey, when did you first realize that you liked him?"

Touka smiled fondly, not even bothering to deny the claim. "After Ryoko died and I went after the investigators, the wound I received had started to bleed through the bandage you'd given me. Kaneki tried to help me clean it, and he told me that he would be sad if I died. That was all it took."

"That long, huh? I never would've guessed."

"When did you realize that I liked him?"

"I think I had a feeling after he was taken by Aogiri Tree. But I was sure when I came back from Brazil after…"

"After we thought he was dead?"

Corie began thinking about that night…the one night where she wasn't sure she had ever felt more devastated. "I must've replayed that night in my head a hundred times…wondering if I could've done something differently…"

"You did at least one thing right," Touka told her. "Even though you were supposed to be fighting investigators, you saved Takizawa. Imagine how our last raid would've gone if you hadn't done that."

Corie rested her head on Touka's shoulder. "I forgot how much I've missed this. I can't even remember the last time we just…talked."

"Yeah, I've really missed this too. But you know, you've been busy the last couple years. We both have."

Corie looked over at her. "You needed me. And I just up and left you."

Touka sighed. "We all deal with grief in our own ways."

"No, don't try to excuse it. You were hurting just as much as I was. I should've been there for you. I should've been there for both of us. When I left, I went back to the States so I could be as far away from here as I possibly could. It didn't even matter. I still didn't get out of bed for at least a week. I'm not sure I ever would have if my friend, Matthias, hadn't forced himself into my apartment. You know, he didn't know that ghouls could get drunk."

"You didn't."

"Yeah, I called Itori and she found us a ghoul bar near where I was living. We got absolutely hammered that night. It was nice to just…forget everything for a while, but oh man, that hangover was one of the worst experiences of my life. There is no way that a human hangover is worse than a ghoul's. Matthias came back and crashed at my place and we spent the entire next day lying on my floor because we physically couldn't do anything else. Well, except take turns puking in the bathroom."

Touka laughed lightly. "I don't drink, so I'm afraid I don't know what it's like."

"Ugh, don't ever do it. I don't think it's worth it. It didn't really help much either. Nothing did really. Not even running all the way over to the States." She ran a hand through her hair. "I always do that. When things get confusing and overwhelming, I run. I did the same thing when Reo died. My uncle had lost a sister and a nephew and instead of being there for him, I ran away."

"You left to get stronger so that nothing like that would happen again."

"Maybe it was like that at first. But then it became an escape so I didn't have to deal with the pain. After Kaneki was taken and tortured, I left rather than help him through the aftermath of that kind of ordeal. And after we thought he was dead, I just left and abandoned you and Hinami."

Touka gently took her hand. "But instead of leaving when you found out what had really happened, you fought harder than ever."

"Look, I know you never really agreed with what I did," Corie told her. "But you have no idea how much I appreciate you still having my back when I really needed you."

"I wanted to help you, believe me. But I also just wanted him to be happy. When he came into the coffee shop for the first time, he seemed okay. So I decided to just leave him be. Even though it killed me to do that."

"I wish I was that strong. I thought about coming back all the time after that night. But every time I tried, I suddenly couldn't breathe. It's honestly a miracle I even came back at all."

"Corie, you _are_ strong. You basically tortured yourself for a year just so you could look out for Kaneki. I could never have put myself through that."

"I could never tell him this, but…what if he really was better off not remembering? It hurt me so much to find out that he didn't know who I was that…I never really stopped to think about how much I might be hurting him."

Touka sighed and leaned her head back. "Do you know that the first time Sasaki came to :re and drank some coffee here, he started crying?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think…neither of us were right and neither of us were wrong. Things like smell and taste can bring back memories that have long since been forgotten. That first sip reminded this dormant part of him of that feeling he got when he was at Anteiku. He may not have remembered me or you, but he did remember how he felt when he was around us. We made him feel safe. _You_ made him feel safe. Not even Arima could make him forget that feeling.

"Corie, you could've run when you found out what had happened to him. But you didn't. You stayed so could you protect him even when he didn't know who you were."

"And look where it almost got me."

"He's alive now because of you. Regardless of whether I agreed with you or not, he might be dead if not for Lightning. Not only that, but you managed to talk Takizawa over to our side. That's huge. None of us would've been able to do that. And that's all because _you_ decided to intervene three years ago."

"But he was brutally tortured because I helped him."

"We both know that would've been happened to him if you had intervened or not. Because of you, we have another ally. One like Amon who now knows what it's like to be an investigator _and_ a ghoul."

Corie sighed and looked her straight in the eye. "You're right. No more running. I promise that I'm going to stay and fight. No matter what happens."

"Good. Because we're gonna need you. You're the only one who can really connect with these guys. Just like you did with Kaneki."

"Touka…when I was in Cochlea, one of the things I regretted most was not telling you how much I appreciated your friendship."

Touka gave her a small smile. "I knew."

* * *

Feeling a little suffocated in the small room after reliving so many painful memories, Corie took the secret exit and went through the tunnels until she was outside. Keeping her face covered with her hoodie, she bounded up the walls and landed on the roof of an especially tall building where she was out of sight of the citizens but could still see the beauty of Tokyo at night.

Corie sighed as she let the wind whip through her hair. Thousands of people went about their daily lives below her, oblivious to all of her daily struggles to simply stay alive.

Her stomach growled, signaling that she hadn't eaten in a long time, and she considered going on a hunt. It had been such a long time since she'd been able to seek out her prey rather than rely on the supply at :re, and as disturbing as it may be, there was something darkly thrilling about hunting a living human.

"Feeling hungry?" a sickly-sweet voice purred behind her.

Corie turned in surprise, wondering who could possibly be all the way up here. Her eyes widened when she saw a girl dressed in bandages and a pink hooded dress.

"Eto," she said softly.

"Hi," Eto giggled. "It's about time we meet…cuz."

"I've been looking for you for months. Why…are you just showing yourself to me now?"

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Well, for one, I…wanted to know where Dr. Kanou is. I thought you might know."

"He doesn't matter."

"Yes, he does. He can't keep trying to make half-ghouls. It's inhumane."

"What's inhumane is what the CCG did to you when they captured you."

"How do you know about that?"

"I know everything about you. Like how the CCG tortured you for information you'd already given up."

Corie shook her head. "I would really prefer to not talk about my time at the CCG."

"Aw, is it still a little raw for you?"

"You could say that. Eto, I…I've wanted to meet you for so long. I'm really glad you came to find me."

"Don't flatter yourself. You think I came to find you because I like you?"

Corie had been prepared for Eto to hate her, but the words still stung. "I'm…sorry. For everything you've been through. I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did. Why did my father abandon me and raise you? He was supposed to be _mine_."

"You have every right to be furious."

"He didn't even tell you about me!"

"I know. I wasn't happy that he kept you from me either. But it's not too late to fix things. No matter what, we're still family."

"I don't have a family."

"Yes, you do. I'm 27 years too late, but I'm still here."

Eto removed the pink dress and let several of the bandages fall from her body. Corie's eyes widened when familiar long green hair fell wildly around her bare shoulders.

"You…" she breathed. "You're that writer."

"Surprise!" Eto laughed, her mouth stretching into a wide, eerie grin.

"That day we went to the signing, you knew, didn't you?"

"Of course I did. How disrespectful that my own cousin didn't know who I was and couldn't even be bothered to read my books. It took all of my control to not kill you right then and there."

"You wanted to…_kill_ me?"

One of her eyes gleamed red and black as she continued to grin. "Corie Masataka, I _hate_ you. You stole everything that belonged to me. And so I'm going to steal everything from you."

Corie clenched her jaw. "Eto, I don't want to hurt my family, but I will do what I have to do in order to keep the people I care about safe."

Eto laughed. "You think you're a match for me? All that fancy traveling and training you've done will get you nowhere when up against me. You see, strength can only get you so far. Intelligence and imagination are what really matters when forming your kagune and more importantly, your kakuja. But you don't have one of those, do you?"

"Kakujas are not worth the price of your soul."

"And that's why you are weak. After I have taken everything from you, I am going to kill you. And trust me, I'm going to make it _really _slow."

"This isn't what your father wanted. He wanted us to save you."

Eto giggled again. "If he wanted me saved, he shouldn't have given me up in the first place. He can rot for eternity for all I care. But did you know that dear old dad is still alive?"

Corie swore her heart stopped beating for a moment. "That's not possible. I…I watched him die."

"You can try and save him if you'd like, but I'm not giving any hints. Enjoy the time you've got left, cuz, because I am going to make the rest of your short life _hell_."

Eto disappeared from the roof in a fit of maniacal laughs.

Corie sank to her knees in disbelief, unable to catch her breath.

Was her uncle…really alive?

Panicked, hurt, and confused, Corie retreated down into the tunnels as if blocking out the rest of the city would somehow help things make sense.

When someone lightly touched her shoulder, she jumped a foot in the air and nearly knocked the person clean out. She looked up to find Kaneki standing before her.

"Sorry," he smiled awkwardly. "I didn't mean to scare you." His brow furrowed in concern as he knelt down in front of her. "You're as white as a sheet. What happened?"

Corie swallowed thickly. "…Eto found me."

"What?! What did she say? Did she hurt you?"

"No, it's just…she hates me. I can't say I wasn't expecting that, but it's more than just resentment. She wants to kill me, and I don't think she's the kind of person to say that flippantly."

"Don't worry, I won't let her lay a hand on you."

"Kaneki…Eto Yoshimura…and Sen Takatsuki…are the same person."

"…What?"

"There's more. She said my uncle's still alive."

Kaneki's eyes widened. "But…I thought he died during the Owl Operation."

"So did I. And I know she could be lying…but what if she isn't? What if he really is still out there?"

"Then we'll find him. I promise."

Kaneki wrapped his arms around her protectively, wishing that he could take her pain on himself.


	25. The Second Raid

**_Corie=27_**

**_Kaneki=22_**

The group from :re comprised of Kaneki, Corie, Touka, Irimi, Koma, Yomo, Tsukiyama, and their newest recruit Takizawa headed inside an old hospital that had been slowly decreasing in use due to insufficient funds.

Because certain activities happened in the basement of which only a select few of the staff were aware.

"Let's split up," Kaneki said. "We'll cover more ground. I can't be gone too long or the other investigators might realize something's up. Touka, Takizawa, you'll be with me. Koma, Irimi, Yomo, you guys take Tsukiyama and keep him in line. Corie, I know you're fully capable of handling yourself."

"Watch your back," Corie said. "If you need me, call for me."

Kaneki nodded and took off down one of the passages with Touka and Takizawa at his side.

Taking a deep breath, Corie maneuvered through a dark passageway, constantly alert for anything that might desire to harm her in her search for Kanou and her cousin.

Eerie groaning reached her ears and within seconds, the passage flooded with what she assumed were floppies. However, these creatures were much more advanced than the things they had battled on their last raid.

Corie unleashed her kagune and began fighting the multiple floppies, apologizing as she killed each one despite knowing their minds no longer registered anything. These innocent souls didn't deserve this fate. At least they could rest easy now.

Breathing heavily, she stood up amidst the carnage and tried to see if any of them were still moving.

Suddenly, something shoved her from behind into the opposite wall.

There was no way that had been a floppy. Floppies didn't have nearly that much strength. Well, none except for Amon but he'd been caged up separately and only released as a last resort.

Corie frantically turned around to see her newest adversary.

Her eyes widened in horror at what she saw.

A person with the eyes stitched open and the mouth stitched closed.

And then she realized who the person was.

"Oh, Kanae," she whispered as she removed her mask. "Who did this to you?"

Kanae attacked her with his sharp purple kagune, not bothering to answer her.

Corie quickly dodged the attack. "Kanae, I don't want to hurt you."

"Well, I want to hurt you," he said hardly, the stitches restricting his ability to talk properly.

While Kanae continued attacking her, Corie urgently asked, "Who did this?!"

"Why do you care?!"

"Look, I know we never got along, but that doesn't mean I ever wanted this to happen to you. Just tell me who did this!"

"It doesn't matter. I'm going to kill you like she wanted me to."

"Wait, did Eto do this?"

"The One-Eyed girl, she told me the truth about you." Kanae unleashed a flurry of strikes against her with her while screaming, "_Töten_! _Töten_! _Töten_! _Töten_! _TÖTEN_!"

"Kanae, stop!" Corie pleaded as she tried to dodge all of the strikes which was starting to prove incredibly difficult. She'd never seen Kanae so angry before. "You've been with her all this time? Tsukiyama's been so worried about you!"

Kanae's eyes widened and he paused in his attacks. "Master Shuu…worried about _me_?"

"Yes. He's here now. You can see him. He's pretty much back to his normal self."

"He's…better now?"

"Yeah. Ever since he found out that Kaneki is alive, he's been in a much better mood. He's even helped on a couple of our raids."

Kanae's hopeful look once again disappeared beneath intense hatred. "_Kaneki_! That _STUPID BOY_!"

Unable to hurt Kanae despite her dislike of him, Corie quickly ran down the passageway before either of them had the chance to kill each other.

Corie's head began to spin. Why would Eto do such a horrible thing to someone like Kanae? What had he ever done to her? Sure, he did some pretty questionable things for the Tsukiyama family, but all he ever wanted was for Tsukiyama to be okay.

She frantically searched for someone from :re to get some help since she'd never be able to fight Kanae without hurting him on her own. Tsukiyama would be the ideal choice, but she would take anyone at this point.

She started to round a corner but very quickly had to step back. "Oh, _frack_!" she whispered when she saw people who were most definitely not part of her group.

It was the Quinx squad.

"Oh, this is bad," she said to herself. "This is very, very, very bad."

What on earth were the Quinx doing here?! How did they know about this place? Why were they here _now_ of all times?

If they all weren't careful, Kaneki would have his cover blown and they all would try to kill him. The CCG couldn't have a half-ghoul like Kaneki wandering around when he'd been working with them for over two years. That kind of knowledge in his hands was pretty dangerous for them.

Corie put her mask back on and quickly tried to find another path that didn't lead to Kanae or the Quinx.

"Yomo!" she called upon stumbling across the white-haired ghoul. "We've got multiple problems."

"What is it?" he asked.

"There are Doves here. More specifically, Sasaki's squad, the Quinx. I don't know how they found this place or why they're here, but we can't let them find Kaneki."

"What's the other problem?"

Corie faced Tsukiyama with a somber expression. "…I found Kanae. It's…it's not good."

Tsukiyama's face tightened. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know. Eto got to him and he's insistent on killing me to fulfill her orders. I was hoping…you might be able to talk him down. You're the only one he'll listen to."

"I can try."

"We need to find Kaneki and warn him about his squad being here then we need to get out of here. We can try to find information on Kanou later."

They all quickly attempted to find Kaneki before the Quinx did.

However, unbeknownst to them, they were already too late.

Kaneki just barely registered something being thrown from behind him. He threw himself around Touka to protect her from the blow.

A knife embedded itself into his shoulder, and he cried out in pain as he and Touka fell to the ground.

"Kaneki!" Touka exclaimed.

"So it's true," Mutsuki said lowly. "You really aren't Sasaki anymore, are you?"

Kaneki ripped the knife out of his flesh and tossed it aside. The wound quickly healed itself. "What are you doing here?" he asked without turning around. His face was hidden by his mask, but it didn't matter. They knew who he was.

"Maman?" Saiko said quietly.

Kaneki internally winced at the girl's heartbroken voice. He had never meant to hurt them like this…especially not Saiko who needed him so much.

"We suspected you were being less than honest for weeks now," Urie told him. "So tonight when you disappeared again without telling us why, we decided to follow you."

"You shouldn't be here."

"You know the rules. If you were to get your memories back, the CCG would have to eliminate you. Until backup comes, I guess we'll have to do the job."

Kaneki looked Touka firm in the eyes. "Run."

Touka glared at him. "I am not leaving you."

The half-ghoul sighed, knowing that it would be pointless to try to talk her out of staying with him. And if he was being totally honest, he didn't really want her to go. "Make sure they don't see your face."

"I know that, idiot."

Touka flipped her hood up to shield herself even more from the Quinx members. Releasing their large kagunes, Kaneki, Touka, Takizawa, and the Quinx squad prepared to battle.

Meanwhile, as the other half of the group searched for Kaneki, a flash of purple hair appeared at the end of the hall.

"Kanae!" Tsukiyama called running after the other ghoul.

"Tsukiyama!" Corie cried. She turned to Yomo, Koma, and Irimi. "I'll go after him. Find Kaneki and the others and get them out of here."

Corie quickly followed in the direction Tsukiyama had gone and soon found herself up on the roof of the building.

Tsukiyama stood in shock as he saw what had been done to the poor man who had worked for him and become one of his closest confidantes.

Unfortunately, Eto was there too.

She giggled and spryly hopped next to Kanae. Then she transformed into her terrifying ginormous kakuja form.

"Tsukiyama, get out of here!" Corie ordered. "Now!"

"Do you honestly think I'm going to let you face this thing by yourself?"

"She's _my_ cousin! This is between us!"

"I can't forgive someone who did something so heinous to one of my beloved servants." His purple kagune wrapped around his arm. "I assure you that you will pay for this!"

"Tsukiyama, _don't_!"

With almost laughable ease, Eto knocked Tsukiyama into the far wall, causing a large indentation to appear in it.

"Master Shuu!" Kanae screamed. She furiously turned to Eto. "You promised you wouldn't hurt him!"

"I never make any promises," Eto giggled.

Tsukiyama stood up again only for Eto to knock him across the roof once more.

Corie quickly formed her kagune, but there were too many things happening at once that overwhelmed her and took away her clear head rendering her kagune essentially useless.

Even if she tried any attacks, her strikes would be weak and uncoordinated and she feared that would just make everything worse.

Kanae glared at her and began to fight her again. "_You_! You're the one who brought Master Shuu here! This is _your _fault!"

Corie quickly poured all her focus into her kagune so she could protect herself without hurting him. "Kanae, stop! Please!"

"You have always been in my way. You have _always_ interfered when _I _was supposed to be the one helping Master Shuu!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize how much being by his side meant to you!"

"Kanae…" Tsukiyama said weakly. "Stop…she isn't your enemy."

Kanae stopped mid-lunge and looked over at him. "…Master Shuu?"

Before he could say anything else, Eto brutally attacked him once again until he laid across the roof in a bloody lump. For all his amazing strength, even he could not defend himself against someone as powerful as the One-Eyed Owl.

"No!" Kanae cried. "Master Shuu!" He abandoned the fight with Corie and attempted to attack Eto. "I will not let you hurt my master!"

"Get out of my way," Eto replied calmly.

While Kanae was in midair, Eto knocked her into the wall even harder than she had with Tsukiyama.

"Kanae…" Tsukiyama said weakly.

Corie looked at her deranged cousin in horror. "What have you done? What has Kanae ever done to you? Why would you do something so cruel to him?!"

Eto pulled back half of her kakuja form to reveal her grinning face. "I believe you mean 'her'."

"What?"

Corie looked at Kanae in disbelief.

'Her'? Kanae?

"So that's why you care about Tsukiyama so much," she said. "You're not just devoted to him. You're in love with him."

"Haise Sasaki," Kanae growled. "Ken Kaneki. They ruined Master Shuu and took away the man who cared for me and tried to reassure me when my family had been slaughtered. I _hate_ him almost as much as I hate you! And after I've killed you, I will _kill_ him!"

"Kanae, I'm so sorry. If I had known…"

Eto reformed her kakuja and picked Tsukiyama up in one of her giant claws. "I'm sorry, but the only one who is going to kill Corie Masataka is me," the kakuja growled.

Then she flung the weakened ghoul over the side of the building.

"_MASTER_ _SHUU_!" Kanae screamed, getting up and diving after him.

Corie raced to the ledge. "Kanae!"

Falling the long way down to the ground below, Kanae wrapped her arms around Tsukiyama's waist protectively.

"Kanae…" Tsukiyama mustered out. "Let go…save yourself."

"_Nein_!" Kanae screamed. "Even if my body is smashed, even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will protect you! You mean everything to me! May I perhaps express a wish? I wish you had said my name. My true name. I don't care if you hear me. I'm not making this wish to you. I am screaming it to the world. My feelings. I am screaming it before my life ends. Oh, my dear Shuu. I've dreamed of holding you in my arms for so long. _Vader_, _Mutter_, _meine_ _Brüder_, I beg your forgiveness. I beg for yours as well, Master Shuu. I've shamed you! I fell in love with you and I never had the right!"

"That's not true," Tsukiyama interjected with a sad smile. He gently put his hands to Kanae's face. "And no one will punish you…Karren."

Kanae…Karren smiled through her tears as she put her hands overtop of Tsukiyama's. She wrapped her kagune around him and flung him aside through the trees to soften his fall he would survive.

_This life was cruel_, Karren thought to herself as the ground came nearer and nearer. _For I was unable to live as myself. This life was wonderous. Because I was able to die as myself. Is it bad…for me to be so happy_?

Karren hit the ground with a painful crash that made Corie wince from her position against the ledge. She sank to the ground in despair at what she had just witnessed.

Kanae…Karren…

Corie felt so guilty for everything she had put her through in the past when the whole time, she was struggling just as much as her. If only she had known about her true feelings for Tsukiyama, she could've helped her work through them. She could've offered her support instead of fighting her all the time. She could've done so many things differently.

"You didn't even like her," Eto taunted from behind her, her face exposed from inside the kakuja as she laughed at her pain. "You have no idea what I have planned for you. When I'm done, you are going to be begging me to kill you."

"Eto…" she said softly. "I'm sorry…but please don't hurt anyone else because of me. Please."

With a maniacal giggle, Eto disappeared from the roof leaving Corie to wonder what other sadistic things she was going to do to her.

Corie stood up and looked over the ledge. Tears formed in her eyes at the sight of Karren's mangled body below that no amount of regeneration was going to save her from.

Had Eto really put her through all that…just to hurt Corie?

And if she was willing to hurt someone Corie had never even gotten along with, what was she going to do to all of the people Corie cared deeply about?

Was there anything she could do to stop her? Even if she left the country, Eto would continue slaughtering everyone until Corie had to come back to put a stop to it. And Corie had promised that she wouldn't just run when things got hard.

Should she just kill herself now before Eto could in order to spare everyone?

No, Eto might kill everyone anyway in anger that she hadn't been able to kill Corie herself.

If what Eto said was true and her uncle really was still alive, he was currently her only hope at getting out of this mess alive. He might be the only one who would be able to talk her down.

She had to find him.

Meanwhile, down below in the building, Yomo, Koma, and Irimi joined Kaneki, Touka, and Takizawa in the fight against the Quinx. While the Quinx were pretty good at holding their own, they were also very outnumbered against some very experienced half- and full-ghouls.

"We trusted you!" Mutsuki screamed. "_I_ trusted you! And all this time, you've been helping them!"

Kaneki looked at Mutsuki calmly. "I did what I had to do. I'm sorry."

Saiko looked at him crushed. "First Miss Reina, and now Maman?"

"Whose side are you on?!" Shirazu yelled. "Was everything you've ever done for us just a lie?!"

Mutsuki threw one of his knives at Kaneki, but Kaneki easily deflected it with his kagune.

"We can't stay here," Touka said firmly. "We've gotta find Corie and Tsukiyama and get out of here."

"Go," Kaneki said. "I'll hold them off."

"I told you, I'm not leaving you. Either I stay here and fight with you, or you come with us."

Kaneki sighed. Why did this girl have to be so disagreeable? And why did he have to find that so endearing?

Using a move Corie had taught him, Kaneki threw one of his kagune tentacles to knock over each one of the Quinx members enough to stun them without hurting them.

That was their one and only window.

All of the :re ghouls quickly escaped from the room before the Quinx had the chance to regenerate and follow them.

They raced up to the roof where Corie had last gone while looking for Tsukiyama and Kanae. When they arrived, they found her on her knees by the ledge of the blood-covered roof looking hurt and dazed.

"Corie!" Kaneki exclaimed as he raced to her side.

"Tsukiyama…" she said softly as she pointed to the grouping of trees next to the building. "Help him…"

He turned to Yomo, Koma, and Irimi. "Go down and find him!"

Without hesitation, the three ghouls jumped off the roof and used their kagunes to make it down to the trees quickly and safely to retrieve the injured member of their party.

"Did you find Kanae?" Kaneki asked.

Closing her eyes, Corie wordlessly pointed to the ledge.

Kaneki looked over to the ground far below and made out Kanae's smashed body on the pavement. He winced and turned away.

Touka slowly kneeled next to Corie and gently touched her shoulder.

"It's my fault," Corie whispered. "She died because of me. Eto did all of that to her just to hurt me." She looked up at Kaneki desperately. "We have to find my uncle. He's the only one left who can stop her."

"Mr. Yoshimura is still alive?" Touka said in disbelief.

"I don't know. Maybe. I hope so."

* * *

Corie walked into the Tsukiyama household.

It was oddly and uncomfortably quiet.

She could hear quiet opera music playing as she neared his bedroom. When she entered, she saw Tsukiyama sitting against the wall with his hand over his face.

Corie slowly slid down against the wall to sit next to him. "I'm…I'm sorry about Kanae. Um, I mean Karren."

Tsukiyama didn't say anything.

"I've…I've never seen you like this. I guess I always thought that you only cared about yourself and your ridiculous appetite. But…you have feelings just like the rest of us." She gently put her hand on his. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save her. I'm sorry my cousin did that to her."

Tsukiyama took his hand away from his face, but he still didn't say anything.

"Did…did you know?"

"Of course I did," he finally spoke. "I just didn't let on that I did because I knew how important it was to her to keep it a secret. But maybe if I had just taken the time to show her that it didn't matter…"

"I wish I'd known. Things could've been so different."

"It appears we're both going to live with regrets, _mon amie_."

Corie sighed. She had never wished for Tsukiyama to be wrong more than she did in that moment.

"Look, I'm also sorry that I was always so rough whenever I came to see you," she added.

Tsukiyama gave her a pained smile. "Someone had to do it, darling. I'm sorry too. For not…trying."

Corie never thought she would hear Tsukiyama apologize to her. Under different circumstances, she probably would've teased him for it.

But now, all she could do was sit in silence with him as they listened to the mournful opera music fill the quiet space left behind by a devoted servant and friend.

* * *

That night, Corie tossed and turned in her bed, whimpering and crying out in pain. The noises woke Amon next door who had already been having trouble falling asleep.

He slowly got up out of bed and exited his room to peek inside Corie's.

It was clear she was in the throes of a terrible nightmare. Should he wake her up or would she be mad that he came into her room without permission? Would she even want to know that he had seen her like this? Would she hurt him if he woke her up when she was so agitated?

Before he could come to a decision, he heard another door open down the hall and he quickly hid around the corner.

A young man with white hair briskly stepped inside Corie's room.

_Is that…Eyepatch_? Amon thought to himself.

He slowly inched towards the room again, careful to make his footsteps silent.

Inside the room, Kaneki gently took Corie into his arms and allowed her to slowly ease herself out of the nightmare.

"It's okay," he said softly. "You're not alone. I'm here. It's okay."

Corie clutched onto him as she tried to catch her breath, using his touch to pull her out of the dream and into reality.

Amon wondered what the two of them had been through tonight. Corie had not been her usual charming self and it was pretty disconcerting since not much ever seemed to faze her. Whatever she'd gone through had shaken her to her core.

She'd explained to him previously how Eyepatch had lost all his memories and only recently gained them back though he was feigning that he was still Haise Sasaki in order to get them the information they needed. But tonight, she'd told him in very few words that Eyepatch would be moving down here in another one of the rooms with them. Amon guessed that he only did that because his cover had been blown at the CCG.

What would they do now without their informant?

"How…how the tables have turned," Corie panted with a somber smile. She fell back against the bed exhausted but very much awake. "I don't know about you, but I really don't feel like sleeping. Wanna go train for a little while?"

"Sure, as long as you go easy on me."

"Don't worry, I'm too stressed out to go full strength tonight."

When he heard them getting off the bed, Amon quickly returned to his own room before he got caught eavesdropping.

He listened as the loud main door at the end of the hall slammed shut, signaling the two of them were gone.

He took a seat on the bed and ran his hands through his short black hair.

Seeing that kind of interaction between two ghouls…seeing Eyepatch's tender voice and his gentle touch…seeing how comfortable the two of them were with one another…seeing their relationship with his own eyes…

There was…so much more to ghouls than he had believed.


	26. The Third Raid

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

More desperate than ever to find her uncle, Corie took to the rooftops each night and used her sensitive hearing and her heightened sense of smell to see if she could detect any familiar noises or scents that could lead her to where Eto might be keeping him.

Tokyo was a huge city so it was going to take a while and that was if her senses were even able to pick anything up.

If only Hinami was here. She would be able to do this a lot faster than Corie could. What Hinami lacked in strength, she made up for with her incredible perception. But it had been over a year since she'd seen the girl last. Corie didn't really know what she had been up to ever since the Owl Operation as their one meeting since then had been extremely short and incredibly vague. She just hoped she was okay.

During the day, Corie trained with Kaneki and soon enough, Amon joined in on their fights to get some additional training himself.

A couple weeks later, Touka decided to come down to the training area in the middle of one of their latest sessions.

And thus began one of the most incredible battles the world would never know.

For the first time, Amon was able to fight against a fellow ukaku. He and Touka had fought before, but it was entirely different when he had a kagune of his own.

It became very clear to Corie early on that this training session was a way for Touka to expel much of her built-up rage against investigators, Amon in particular. She'd never been one to release a grudge easily, so the fight was both cathartic for her and a much-needed kagune lesson for Amon.

One night, Corie raced down to Kaneki's room. "Kaneki!" she exclaimed, bolting inside. "I've got something!"

"What do you mean?"

"I picked up a familiar scent. It's weak, but it's the most I've gotten in two months. What if…what if it's him?"

"Then we're going to get him. Get the others."

Corie rounded up Touka, Irimi, Koma, Yomo, and Takizawa, and all of them followed Corie to where she had picked up Yoshimura's scent.

As they traversed further and further into the building, everyone on the lookout for possible floppies, they stumbled across someone familiar.

"You," Corie said softly.

The girl smirked, her one kakugan eye gleaming. "Father was right. You were going to come here. I'm afraid I can't let you go any farther."

"Wait a minute, there were two of you. Where's the other one?"

The black-clad girl clenched her jaw. "She's gone. The Doves killed her."

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want your pity."

"What's your name?"

The girl paused, confused that someone who had snapped her bone in half last time they'd come in contact was asking for her name. "Kurona," she finally answered. "My sister was Shirona."

"Those are pretty names."

"Stop it! Stop trying to act kind and innocent and like you actually care about me! If you could, you would kill me right now."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you hate my father."

"Kurona…Kanou isn't your father. Fathers care about their family. Did he show any grief or sympathy when your sister died?"

Kurona's face slackened. "…No. He didn't even try to save her."

"So why do you still insist on helping him?"

"Because he created me. He knows what is best for me."

"No, he doesn't. He knows what's best for himself. He will not hesitate to hurt you if it benefits him."

"You don't know that."

Corie turned to Takizawa, and the half-ghoul slowly walked forward to stand next to her. "Do you know who this is?" she asked.

"Should I?" Kurona demanded.

"His name is Takizawa. He used to be a Dove until Kanou got to him. Kanou sawed off his limbs and let them grow back repeatedly in order to strengthen his RC cells. He did that for months on end, and it was all against his will."

"No, you're-you're lying to me."

"I wish she was," Takizawa interjected. "But it's true. He'll do the same to you or worse if he thinks it will help his cause and make you stronger."

"No, Father would never do that to me."

"He can, and he will if you give him the chance," Corie said firmly. "But I'm not going to let that happen. Tell me where we can find him so we can stop these inhumane experiments of his. We have to."

Kurona sank to her knees in disbelief. "You're…lying…"

Corie took a few steps toward her. "I know what it's like to lose a sibling. I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone. It feels like you've lost an entire half of yourself. It must hurt that much more for you to have lost your twin. And Kanou sat here and let you grieve alone while he continued his experiments and killed more innocent people. He needs to be stopped or more people like your sister are going to die. Do you want others to feel the pain you're feeling right now?"

Kurona touched her chest which had begun to ache with sorrow and longing. "I miss her…" she said quietly. "She didn't deserve to die. It should've been me."

"Where is Kanou?"

Kurona pointed down the hall. "There. With more floppies."

"Will you help us?"

She extended her hand for the girl to take.

With tears sinking down her cheeks, Kurona took Corie's hand and stood back up. "I want him dead."

"So do we."

The group including their newest member continued down the hall until they came upon a large chamber filled with even more floppies. It was incredibly disturbing how many they had come across since their search for Kanou began and how many there probably still were around Tokyo that they didn't know about.

"Eto warned me that you were weak," a voice said from above them. Atop a balcony stood Kanou staring down at them with a cocky grin. "See how quickly you've turned away from your family."

"You are _not_ my family," Kurona spat. "You let my sister die."

"She died because of her own weakness. It had nothing to do with me. If she had been stronger or better, she could've survived."

"_Shut up_!"

Kurona released her tentacled kagune, but Corie stopped her.

"Not yet," she said firmly. She looked up at the doctor. "What's in this for you? Why are you helping Eto?"

"It's a partnership. She brings me subjects for my experiments and I attempt to make more half-ghouls for her and Aogiri Tree." He smiled fondly at Kaneki. "You always were my greatest success. I've never been able to repeat your outstanding abilities on any of the others I've tried."

Both Kaneki and Takizawa felt sick as they were suddenly flooded with memories stemming from a direct result of Kanou's actions against them.

"I suppose now is the best time to try out my latest creation and see which of you is stronger."

All of the containers around them opened, releasing multiple floppies similar to the last bunch they'd faced. But one of them was not a floppy at all. It was a half-ghoul, ready to fight.

"Go on, Okahira," Kanou smirked. "Make Father proud."

This one wasn't like Takizawa or Kurona. His eyes were dead and soulless. Corie wouldn't be able to talk him down like she had the other two.

The half-ghoul known as Okahira released his kagune and began attacking them. Corie and Kurona faced him together while the others battled the other half-formed floppies.

Okahira was fast. Almost as fast as Corie.

Careful to keep her head clear, Corie stood still and flinched her shoulders. Her kagune whipped towards Okahira and knocked him off his feet and into the far wall.

Then she allowed Kurona and Takizawa to take her place while she fought off other floppies threatening to keep them from finishing the half-ghoul off.

The fight quickly came to an end with a disgusting _squelch_.

Corie was just about to go after Kanou when Irimi called her name.

She turned around and saw everyone looking at her with ashen faces filled with regret and sympathy. Her gaze fell on a glass case that a sheet had fallen from to reveal the contents inside.

Corie thought she was going to be sick.

Inside was her uncle's body.

She slowly went up to the case and lightly touched the cold glass that encased the man she loved so dearly.

Various tubes and wires extended from his back and flowed to another container.

He had already been an elderly man before, but it looked as if he had had another thirty years sucked right out of him.

He had been kept alive all this time for his kakuhou to be harvested and put into the floppies.

Horrified tears falling from her eyes, Corie slammed the glass with her kagune as hard as she could.

One side of the glass case shattered and Yoshimura's body slid out onto the floor along with all of the liquid now free from its casing.

She whipped off her jacket and used it to cover him. Every other person in their group followed suit and laid one piece of their clothing onto him.

"Uncle Yoshimura?" she whispered hoarsely as she held him in her arms. "Can you hear me?"

Her uncle's eyes fluttered open and he smiled weakly at her. Then his eyes closed again and his body completely stilled, unable to continue functioning after being released from the only thing keeping him alive.

Corie pulled him close and began wailing over his dead body. The hope she had once had that she might possibly be reunited with him had been ripped violently apart. Not only was he truly gone, but she had had to watch him die twice.

And she knew that was just what Eto had intended. It was all part of her plan to make her suffer.

Everyone stood back, allowing her to have her moment to herself with her last surviving blood family member or at least her last sane surviving blood family member.

"She knew," Corie choked out. "She knew that I wouldn't be able to save him."

She took a deep breath and stood up without bothering to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

With an eerily calm voice, she announced, "I am going to _kill_ her."

* * *

Amon looked up when he noticed someone at the door. "Did you find out anything?"

Corie refused to meet his eyes as she swallowed nervously.

"What happened?"

She took a deep breath and finally looked at him. "Amon…there's something I never told you. The One-Eyed Owl…is my cousin."

Amon inhaled sharply.

"And…the other one, the one the CCG dubbed the Non-Killing Owl…is my uncle, her father." She noticed him look at her warily and quickly added, "I-I don't have a kakuja. I'm not like them."

Amon wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with this information. Corie had had plenty of opportunities to kill him so far and she hadn't, so he didn't think she had any ill will towards him. But to know that she was related to the monster who had slaughtered so many of his comrades?

Corie's bottom lip trembled as she took another deep breath. "Um…I thought my uncle had been killed the night of the Owl Operation, but I was wrong. He's been alive this entire time. Having his kakuhou harvested…for Kanou's experiments. And it was my cousin who did that to him. I wasn't able to prevent her from doing something so horrific to the man who helped raise me. Amon…you have his kakuhou. You're like this because of me. Because I couldn't stop them."

She got down onto her knees before him, bowing so low that her head nearly touched the floor.

With tears pouring down her face, she told him, "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I could never ask that of you. I just want you to know that I am so, so sorry. If you want to leave here and never see me or any of us again, I won't stop you. I'm sorry, Amon."

Amon awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. He'd never really been that great with criers or women or especially crying women.

He wasn't sure how to process everything she'd said to him. He would've thought that someone in her position would revel in the idea of someone like him being turned into a half-ghoul. But then she'd always managed to throw him for a loop even back when he was human. Though it surprised him, it was clear she felt absolutely terrible about his situation especially now that she learned that her family was involved. She'd constantly done her best to help him adapt to it rather than taunt him or try to kill him for everything he'd done before this whole thing started.

With a sigh, he got down on the floor in front of her. "Corie," he said firmly, putting his hands on her elbows so he could lift her into a sitting position. "There's nothing to forgive. You can't be blamed for the actions of your family." Looking away from her, he added, "There's something I never told you either."

Corie wiped her eyes as she waited for him to go on.

"I never knew my birth parents. I grew up at an orphanage for twelve years. The priest who headed up the place was Donato Porpora. We all loved him like our own father. But when I was eight, I stumbled across him devouring a child. That was when I realized that our kind 'father' was really a ghoul and whenever a child was supposedly adopted, it meant he had been eaten. Even worse was when I learned that…he'd been serving me…appetizers."

He put his hand to his mouth, fighting down the bile rising up in his throat. He had never discussed this moment with anyone in his entire life. It was more difficult that he'd thought to talk about. He wasn't exactly sure why he chose to share it with Corie of all people, but something about her made it so easy to pour out everything he kept bottled up.

Corie bit her bottom lip. It was no wonder Amon grew to hate ghouls so much. Anyone would in that position.

"Even after I discovered his secret, he let me live. But at a cost. I had to start helping him. Eventually, the CCG found me and took me in and I started learning how to be an investigator. The point is…I don't want to be blamed for the actions of my father. So I won't blame you for the actions of your uncle and cousin. And if turning into a ghoul is what it takes for me to understand your kind and work alongside you, then it's what had to happen."

Corie met his eyes, having a new understanding of the investigator-turned-ghoul.

"Look…about Fueguchi and everything that happened with that case…" He faltered, that particular night still raw even after all this time. "I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive the ghouls who killed my partner that night, but…I understand why it happened. And I'm sorry. If I had known then what I know now…I never would've…"

Corie smiled sadly, painfully understanding how he felt. "I don't think I'm the one you should apologize to about that."

"I know. But I thought you deserved to hear it from me. If I ever see the Fueguchi girl again…I'll tell her the same."

She gently put her hand on his. "That means a lot, Amon. Really."

* * *

_Corie looked around her, but there was nothing for miles._

_"__Honey."_

_She turned around and felt her throat tighten when she saw who was standing before her. "Mama?"_

_"__Hi."_

_Her father walked up to stand beside his wife. "Hey, hon."_

_"__Daddy?" Corie looked down at her feet in shame. "I'm…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect Reo."_

_"__Baby, we were never mad about that," her mother said kindly._

_Corie looked up in surprise. "You weren't?"_

_"__No. You only feared that we would be. But we know you did everything you could. And we're so proud of how far you've come."_

_"__Really?"_

_"__They're right, sis."_

_Corie's heart lurched when Reo joined her mother and father. "Reo?"_

_"__I know you fought your hardest to protect me. But it was my turn that night to protect you, and I did. About Kaneki, I'm really glad you guys have each other. I didn't want you to be alone, and I always hoped that you would have someone to look out for you."_

_Corie ran up to her family and hugged them all tightly. They hugged her back and sank down to their knees._

_"__I miss you all so much," she cried. "I don't know what to do without you. I need you now more than ever."_

_"__I'm sorry we can't be there," her father told her. "You need to find strength in your allies and work with them to overcome this challenge."_

_"__This never should've happened to you," her mother added. "I love my brother, but I am not going to let my daughter continue to pay for his mistakes."_

_"__There's only one way for this to end," Corie said. "I need to kill Eto. She's too far gone for me to pull her back."_

_Her mother held her daughter's chin in her hand. "Stay strong, my beautiful girl. We love you so much. Don't ever forget that."_

* * *

Corie awoke with tears pouring down her cheeks. She sat up in her bed and wiped her eyes.

After what she had experienced in Cochlea while under the effects of Jiro's toxin, she had been thinking about her family a lot and wondering if what she had seen was true. Now she understood how ridiculous those fears were and finally had some much-needed closure.

She slowly eased herself out of bed and made her way down the hall to Kaneki's room. Once there, she saw his door was open and he was gone.

He was probably out either training or coming to terms with what they had found tonight or trying to find out where Kanou had gone. She hoped he wasn't alone. If something happened, they might not know until it was too late.

She then walked in the opposite direction until she was in front of Amon's closed door.

After a slight moment of hesitation, she quietly knocked on it.

Amon answered it, looking as if he hadn't been getting much sleep either. "Everything okay?"

Corie crossed her arms over her chest. "I can't sleep."

Amon sighed. "How about I make you a cup of coffee?"

Corie smiled a little. "Hope it's better than the last time you tried."

"I think I'm getting the hang of it."

The two of them went up the stairs to the closed coffee shop. Corie took a seat at the counter while Amon went about gathering ingredients.

She watched him intently, internally giggling at how serious he was about making a simple beverage.

Once he finished, he placed a mug in front of her, awaiting her reaction.

Corie picked it up and slowly sipped it. "It's still not perfect," she remarked. "But it's a heck of a lot better than before."

A small smile crossed his face.

"What's this?" Corie teased. "Did the ever-stoic investigator just crack a smile?"

"I'm not a robot."

"No, but you are the most straight-faced person I've ever met. You realize we've known each for five months now and this is the first time I've seen you smile?"

"I haven't exactly had it easy."

"Neither have I. What's your next excuse?"

"I usually don't have reasons to smile."

"You don't need a reason, you egghead."

"Did you just call me an 'egghead'?"

"Yes, I did."

"No one's ever called me an 'egghead' before."

"Maybe not to your face."

Amon leaned onto the counter in front of her. "How do you do that? How are you so…positive all the time?"

Corie looked down at the mug in her hands. "…You have to find reasons to keep living. I'm not saying it hasn't been hard to do that. After I lost my brother and later when I thought I lost Kaneki, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to really smile again. But after some time away from Japan and training in a bunch of other countries, I was able to focus on the things I still had like my uncle and Touka and the rest of the people at Anteiku. And now that Kaneki's back in my life, I have to be there to protect him when he needs me. What do you have, Amon?"

Amon looked towards the window. What _did_ he have? Why did he continue living? What was the purpose anymore?

"My old colleagues at the CCG," he answered. "I want to protect them."

"Good. What else?"

"The comrades I've found here like Eyepatch and Rabbit."

"You might want to start calling them by their names."

"Right." He looked at her for a long moment before adding, "And I have my teacher. Who I have come to greatly respect."

Corie smiled bashfully at the compliment. "Teacher, huh? Aren't you, like, ten years older than me?"

"For your information, I am only 31 years old."

"Oh, so only three years older than me. Maybe if you weren't constantly so serious, you wouldn't look so old."

Corie laughed when he looked completely and utterly offended.

Meanwhile, Kaneki had just returned from his nightly training with Touka and really needed some coffee. He ran his hand through his hair as he came up the stairs but stopped when he heard voices. He peered around the corner to find Corie at the counter while Amon stood behind it fixing up some coffee for both of them.

Wait a minute, was Amon actually…smiling?

With a small smile of his own, Kaneki returned downstairs.


	27. I See You

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

Urie grimaced. How could he have been so stupid? Thinking he could face the One-Eyed Owl alone…

He had been so frustrated and angry and hungry for vengeance that it had completely blinded him to the reality of the situation.

The ghoul inside the massive kakuja pulled back some of the flesh to reveal her grinning face. "Come on, is that the best you've got? I know there's more to you than that."

This monster had been the one to slaughter his father.

Even though he knew that his strength paled in comparison to hers and that he was using perhaps the poorest judgment he had ever had in his entire career as an investigator, he wanted her to feel every inch of pain she had made his father feel. He wanted to rip her apart limb from limb until she begged him for mercy.

The rage built up inside him and he could feel his RC cells surging through his bloodstream, hot and fiery. The power behind it threatened to split him in half.

"There it is," the girl said quietly.

Urie opened his eyes with a furious roar and both of them gleamed red and black and brighter than ever.

"What's this? Two kakugan? You've framed out. That's dangerous."

The young Quinx attacked her over and over again, but she effortlessly dodged all of his attempts and threw him across the roof into the opposite wall.

Unfazed, Urie stood back up and continued to fight.

Eto giggled. "Kuki Urie. You try so hard to make yourself into a worthy investigator. But all of your efforts are in the end for naught. Everyone knows you will never be good enough. You will never be like your beloved father."

Her horrid smiling face infuriated him even more. Urie struck her over and over again, but nothing did any lasting damage. Some part of him in the back of his mind told him that he needed to calm down or he was going to kill himself.

"But the truth is that you hate him. You've always hated him ever since you found out he died because he left you all alone with no other family to care for you."

"Shut…_shut up_!" Urie roared.

He could feel his mind beginning to fade and he was starting to lose sense of where he was or what he was doing.

Everything hurt. Everything hurt so much. All he could feel was overwhelming rage and agony.

Someone landed directly in front of him. She wore a white and red mask that covered her eyes so he couldn't see her face, but he thought for sure he recognized that kagune. Where did he know it?

"I figured you'd show up," Eto said to her. "But I'm afraid you're too late."

"What is that supposed to mean?" the new arrival asked sharply.

"You can either follow me and fight me like you keep trying to do, or you can stay here and try to save him. If you can. You can't have both. Make your choice!"

Corie turned her head to look at the poor boy behind her.

"Someone please help me!" Urie pleaded of absolutely anyone who could hear him as he held his aching head in his hands.

Eto grinned. "I'll be waiting, cuz!"

She shed her massive kakuja form and spryly hopped off the roof.

Corie groaned and ran over to Urie. If anyone from the CCG saw him like this, they would shoot and kill him because he was too much like a ghoul now and they wouldn't be able to get him back to his normal self.

She didn't know why he thought it was a good idea to face Eto alone, but as an impulsive person herself, she couldn't really fault him for it.

What mattered now was getting him to calm down before he got killed. She refused to let anyone else get hurt because of Eto.

"Urie, look at me!" she ordered. "No, you look at _me_. You are stronger than this, Urie, I know you are. You can fight it!"

Urie attempted to strike her with his kagune, but she easily evaded his messy maneuvers.

"I need you to remember. Remember the reason why you became an investigator. Remember everyone at the Chateau. Remember Saiko and Shirazu and Sasaki. Remember…remember Mutsuki."

Urie's eyes widened in some form of recognition. But it wasn't enough and she knew it. She would have to dig deep inside of him to pull him back out of his kagune-induced frenzy.

She knew this was a possibly incredibly stupid move, and Uta was going to be furious with her, but she was desperate. She removed her mask so that Urie could see exactly who he was facing.

"Remember me," she told him.

He looked at her in horror, his fear of what _she_ might do to him overriding his rage.

"I want you to listen to me. I see you, Urie. I always have. I know how hard you've worked, how hard you've trained to be where you are, how much effort you've put into becoming a better investigator. I have seen _all_ of it. I looked forward to the moments I got to help train you every week because I was able to watch you grow. And I want you to know that I hold no resentment towards you for what happened. I knew the risks when I started working there and I knew the risks of me training you. If it hadn't been you, it would've been someone. I'm not going to be angry with you for just doing what you had been trained to do.

"Urie…I know you. I know how strong you are. And that's why I know you are strong enough to beat this. You are _not_ going to let this overtake you. So I want you to fight it. Fight it with everything you have! Fight it, Urie! Do you hear me?! Fight it! _FIGHT IT_!"

Urie bent over at the waist, screaming in agony. He once again held his head in his hands as he fought to regain control of his mind.

As he sank to his knees, his kagune slowly dissolved and his kakugan disappeared. Panting heavily, he looked up at Corie with mixed relief, confusion, and regret.

Corie smiled warmly in return.

"Urie!" someone called.

Corie turned her head to find the other members of the Quinx squad coming towards them, Saiko and Mutsuki taking the lead.

She spared one more glance at Urie before retrieving her mask and bounding off the roof.

"Wait, was that…Reina?" Mutsuki asked softly.

All of the Quinx members rushed over to their fallen leader and slowly helped him stand.

"Are you all right?" Saiko asked. "What was Miss Reina doing here? Did she do this to you?"

"No…" Urie answered weakly. "This was all the One-Eyed Owl's work."

"What?!" Mutsuki exclaimed. "You faced that thing by yourself?! What were you thinking?!"

"I wasn't thinking. I just…I just wanted to finally get justice for my father…"

Mutsuki quieted at his reply.

"But I overdid it. I framed out. Reina…talked me down and helped me get my head back. She…saved me."

Everyone looked in the direction Reina had disappeared. Could it really be possible that…a ghoul had willingly _saved_ an investigator?

Urie didn't understand. Reina should hate him. He had turned her in to the CCG and he was the reason she was brutally tortured by their hands at Cochlea. He had tried to purposefully harm her multiple times during her training sessions, and he had made it abundantly clear that he didn't care for her or her training.

So why in the world had she just fought for him? Why had she abandoned the chance to take on the One-Eyed Owl in favor of helping him regain control? Why hadn't she just let him die?

Why did she care?

Urie felt sick, and not just because he had just framed out and nearly killed himself. Reina's words rang repeatedly in his ears.

_I see you, Urie. I always have._

_I have seen all of it._

_I know you. I know how strong you are._

All his life, he had sought approval from his coworkers and superiors. He wanted to be seen. He wanted to be noticed.

And he never had.

Not until Reina.

Despite everything he had put her through, _she_ was the one who saw him, who noticed him, who was there for him, who saved him.

A ghoul he was supposed to hate had given him what he'd always wanted most.

* * *

Corie started to return to the café after completing her hunt. Her latest meal should hold her over for at least a good month, hopefully more.

She thought that with it being so late at night, she would be in the clear from any prying humans or investigators, but that thought was quickly put to rest when she heard someone call, "Reina!"

Corie frantically turned her head and saw Urie heading in her direction. Panicking at what he could possibly want and the fact that he recognized her even with her mask on (though she was well aware that her own fault), she skillfully ran off using the shadows and the darkness to hide her.

"Reina, stop!" Urie cried. "I only want to talk!"

Corie paused in her step inside a darkened alley. She turned around and slowly removed the mask from her face. He knew her anyway, so there was no point in keeping it on.

"What?"

"I want answers. Why did you save me? Why didn't you just kill me? Why didn't you go with the Owl and leave me to die? Why…why don't you hate me…after what I did to you?"

Corie crossed her arms, still keeping a safe distance between them. "I have experience talking down half-ghouls who've lost themselves to their kagune."

"You mean Investigator Sasaki, don't you?"

"Kaneki to me, but yes. I helped you because despite what happened between us and how things ended up, you're still my student. And I look out for my students."

"I never considered you to be my teacher."

"But you still learned from me."

Urie begrudgingly had to admit that she was right. In several of his recent fights, he had used skills implanted through Reina's training.

"So what happens now? Are you going to turn me in again?"

Urie looked away from her, and though his expression had always been impossible to read, she could've sworn he looked regretful. "No," he admitted. "Look, Reina…I didn't know they were going to do all of that to you. I just thought they'd either kill you quickly or keep you in Cochlea as an informant. I didn't think…"

"I know," Corie told him. "No one could've known they were going to do all that." She swallowed, knowing she had to ask but feared the answer. "Urie…I need to ask you something as well. When your squad arrived on the roof to help you…where was Shirazu?"

Urie's usually emotionless face darkened. "It was a few weeks back. There was a mission that went wrong, and…"

Corie sighed and put her hand to her forehead. "I'm sorry. Was…the One-Eyed Owl there?"

"Yeah."

Corie's throat hurt.

"We managed to kill the SS ghoul Noro by the end of the mission, but not before Noro got to Shirazu and the One-Eyed Owl nearly obliterated us all."

"Urie…the One-Eyed Owl…is my cousin. She was abandoned by her father at birth because he had to protect her. But after my parents were killed when I was 13, he took me in and raised me until his death in the Owl Operation three years ago. She's furious that he raised me and not her so she's taking it out on me by hurting and killing the people close to me."

"That thing…is your cousin?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Urie felt like he should hate Reina. She was related to the monster who had slaughtered his father. But he also knew that would just be ridiculous. Reina was quite obviously nothing like that monster. And she'd admitted that she'd lost her parents around the same age Urie lost his. He honestly couldn't hate her now if he tried.

"I've tried to talk her down but she's been absorbed in her hatred for too long. There's only one way to stop her."

"By killing her."

"Yeah."

"We've been after her for years and have gotten nowhere. What can we do now?"

"I don't know. I'm still working on that." She slipped her mask back over her face. "Maybe the CCG and the rest of us can come to some sort of agreement."

"I doubt that's going to happen any time soon."

"We may not have a choice."

* * *

Amon lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He'd tried for hours to fall asleep but it was no use.

Sleep had evaded him every night since he'd been brought here. The plus side was that since he was not allowed to go anywhere besides the rooms underneath the café, the training area, and the café after hours, he could sleep well into the early afternoon to catch up on his rest.

He closed his eyes in an attempt to somehow fall asleep when he heard whimpers and cries of fear reach his ears.

Not the first time he'd heard it, he simply waited for the sound of footsteps, soft words he couldn't make out, and a door closing.

But it didn't happen. There were no footsteps and the whimpers didn't stop.

Amon slowly made his way out of the room and down the hall. The door to Corie's room was closed. He hesitantly knocked on it, but there was no clear response, not that he'd really been expecting one.

He quietly opened the door to find Corie in the midst of another nightmare. When he looked further down the hall, Eyepatch's door was open and the kid was gone. He wasn't sure where he kept disappearing, but all that mattered was that he wasn't here now.

Which meant there wasn't anyone to bring Corie out of the nightmare.

Taking a deep breath, Amon sat down on Corie's bed and gently pulled her into his arms.

He felt awkward and incredibly ridiculous. He was not a comforter in any way. He never had been. He was the one who firmly told people to get it together and fight. He didn't know if what he was doing was even going to help at all.

Corie came to with heavy gasps and coughs.

Amon tensed a little when he felt Corie clutch onto his arm as she tried to pull herself out of her dreams. Something inside of him ached when he heard her gasping for breath. What could she have been dreaming about to make her react this way? And with how often he had heard her crying out from his room before…

When Corie's breathing returned to normal, her brow furrowed as she realized that the arms holding her were much stronger and larger than Kaneki's.

She quickly pulled back when she realized who it had to be.

Amon awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh…Eyepatch, I-I mean…Kaneki wasn't here, and I've seen him do this before, so I thought…"

Corie continued staring at him in embarrassment, confusion, and relief.

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized as he got off her bed. "I'll just…"

He started to leave, but Corie quickly grabbed his arm. "Wait," she pleaded. "Please. Don't go."

Amon turned around in surprise. He'd thought she'd be angry at him, but she wanted him to stay?

Corie didn't know if it was because she had just had an incredibly intense nightmare or if it was because she'd been through a lot in the past few months with her cousin or if it was because Amon was simply the only other person in the vicinity, but she couldn't stop the next words that came out of her mouth.

"Hold me."

Amon's breath caught in his throat. Was she still half-asleep? Did she know what she was asking? For him, the person who'd attempted to kill her several times and vice versa, the one who'd slaughtered friends of hers, the one who'd killed a little girl's mother for no other reason than that she was a ghoul, to hold her?

When he was about to respond, he looked at her face. The sheer desperation in her eyes gave him pause.

Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone when she looked at him like that. He had never seen her look so…vulnerable.

Well, it was just one night. She could hate him all she wanted tomorrow, but for now…

Corie moved over in the bed to allow him space. For courtesy's sake, he got on top of the blanket and lay down next to her. Corie moved closer to him and rested her head on his chest.

Amon wrapped one arm around her in order to fulfill her request of 'holding' her and make the whole situation a little less awkward.

He could feel her trembling ever so slightly, and it made his heart pang for a brief moment.

Corie was a strong, talented woman, and he admired her for finding the good in life when it constantly seemed like it was doing all it could to crush her. But everyone had a breaking point somewhere down the line, even someone like her. She could only shoulder everyone else's burdens for so long.

Amon absent-mindedly started running his hand through her hair. When he realized what he was doing, he nearly stopped until he noticed that her trembling had ceased. To keep her calmed, he continued doing it.

Corie should feel uncomfortable. She should feel scared. This whole thing should feel wrong.

But even though it didn't make any sense considering all they'd been through, when inside Amon's arms, she had never felt safer.


	28. Kishou Arima

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

Kaneki slowly walked to the end of V14. Memories he had long since forgotten swam through his mind so quickly that his head hurt. He hadn't been in his right mind that night so what he did remember was blurry, but it was enough to make him feel ill.

He had never told Corie, but even when he was Sasaki, he had remembered that night very, very faintly. What he remembered most was the screaming. Arima had already defeated him by that point so he couldn't see, but he could remember hearing an incredibly anguished scream as someone held him. Even as his memories had continued to fade the longer he spent locked up in Cochlea following that night, that one never left. He had always wondered who that person had been. He never could've guessed that it was the girl he loved as a sister nor could he have predicted the events that led up to him finally remembering her.

"How appropriate that we should meet here," a voice said behind him. "Considering this is where it all began."

Kaneki spun around and saw none other than Arima standing at the entrance to the tunnel. A flurry of mixed emotions ambushed him so quickly that he could barely process each one. He felt angry, sad, confused, and shockingly, relieved.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

Arima smirked. "Come now, surely you of all people aren't underestimating my ability to find those who don't want to be found."

"I'm guessing you're not here to chat."

"You know why I'm here."

Kaneki slowly unleashed his kagune. "I don't want to have to do this."

Arima clicked a button on his attaché case and it transformed into his quinque. "Nor do I."

Almost as if another's will moved his feet, Kaneki began to fight Arima as he had done hundreds of times before.

But this time was much different. This wasn't fighting to train. This was going to be a fight to the death. And last time hadn't worked out very well.

Having learned Arima's fighting style over the course of the last couple years, Kaneki managed to hold his own well enough for a while. But he was also beginning to lose stamina, and from the looks of it, Arima wasn't.

He quickly fought to catch his breath. His emotions were everywhere and he had a hard time figuring out what his next move should be. If he lost this fight, he was fairly certain Arima wasn't going to let him live a second time.

Kaneki looked up at his former mentor in fury. "You lied to me," he bit out. "You tried to kill me, you told me you'd killed all of my friends when I begged you to let me save them, and then you kept me alive just so you could _use_ me to hunt the people I care about."

"It started out that way, yes," Arima admitted. "But I admit that I grew to care about you, Haise."

"That's not my name!" He looked Arima dead in the eye. "My name is Ken Kaneki."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Because Haise Sasaki may be allowed to live, but Ken Kaneki is not."

Kaneki tightened the muscles in his back and went in for another attack against the man he had looked up to so fondly. While a huge part of him was furious for everything he'd put him through, another part of him didn't want to fight him and was honestly glad to see him again.

Quicker than Kaneki had anticipated, Arima started to gain the upper hand. "Haven't I taught you anything?" he taunted. "Or did you truly learn nothing over the past two years?"

Arima blocked each kagune strike Kaneki aimed at him. When Kaneki misjudged a kick, Arima slashed his quinque across the boy's arm and nearly sliced the limb off.

Kaneki screamed in agony as he sank to the ground. He attempted to continue attacking, but Arima just did the same thing to both of his legs and then stabbed him in the abdomen.

The investigator approached the downed ghoul with no expression in his eyes. "There were 645 times I could have killed you," he stated.

"So why didn't you?" Kaneki mustered out, blood beginning to pool around him.

"I needed you. A half-ghoul working for the CCG was quite the accomplishment for us."

Kaneki clenched his jaw. Even though he'd known all of that, it hurt much more than he'd thought it would to hear Arima actually admit it.

"I knew you'd gotten your memories back a while ago. I'm not completely blind. I could have ordered the entire CCG after you while you were pretending to be Haise. But I didn't. Against my better judgment, I have a soft spot for you, Ken."

"Arima," Kaneki choked out. "You…were all I had when I'd lost all my memories. Despite everything you have put me through and all of the anger I feel towards you, I can't bring myself to hate you."

Arima raised his quinque above Kaneki's head. "I'm truly sorry it's come to this."

Kaneki closed his eyes and readied himself for the strike that would finally end his life.

Just as Arima brought the weapon down, a purple and black tentacle whipped in between the quinque and Kaneki.

Corie threw herself between the two men, shielding Kaneki with her body and her kagune. She looked down at Kaneki and said quietly but firmly, "I am _not_ going to lose you again."

"Corie…" Kaneki said softly.

She gently touched his blood-covered hand then stood up straight and turned to face the investigator.

"Arima," she said lowly. "I've waited a long time for this."

"Reina Furukawa," he replied. "Better known as Corie Masataka. We meet again."

"I hate you, Kishou Arima. I have always hated you. You assisted the squad that slaughtered my parents in front of me and my brother. You tried to kill Kaneki and then you used him for your own personal gain. I am never going to forgive you for what you've done. This ends here and now."

Arima skillfully twirled his quinque.

Corie manipulated her kagune into two large tentacles and charged.

Kaneki watched with morbid fascination as the two people he respected fought one another. It was perhaps one of the most amazing battles he'd ever witnessed.

Corie was fast, but somehow, Arima was faster. She didn't understand how an investigator could move so fast and handle his quinque so well. It was the most incredible thing she'd ever seen, and had he been anyone else, she might've stopped for a moment to appreciate his battle techniques.

"We've already done this dance before," Arima taunted. "The results weren't so great then."

"I'm stronger now," Corie bit out, her eyes full of hatred. "And I refuse to let you take anything else from me."

She charged again, but Arima deflected each attack and delivered several blows of his own. Thoughts and memories of the last time she had battled Arima began to fill her mind along with the painful image of the mutilated body she had found.

"I easily could've killed you that night at the Chateau."

"But you didn't. Because I had managed to fool even _you_. You just can't admit that you didn't know I was a ghoul."

The more blows she tried to deliver, but more wounds she received instead. The longer she fought him, the more she felt her clear head slipping away which would also render her useless. Against Arima, she couldn't be useless.

But it was hopeless. She couldn't find an opening.

When she tried to attack again, Arima sent her flying thirty feet away.

She collapsed on the ground near Kaneki in pain, covered in wounds that were taking much too long to heal.

_I don't understand_, she thought to herself, her mind foggy. _I need to get my clear head back or he's going to kill both of us. But…I don't know how. Even after all this time, I never managed to find my way._

That night she stormed Aogiri Tree to get Kaneki back after they'd abducted him, Corie's head had been clearer than ever and she'd never had such incredible control over her kagune. She had never been able to repeat the success of that night.

But why was that? What made that night different?

She tried to remember all of the times she'd had full control over her kagune. Storming Aogiri, searching Kanou's lab, every single fight she got into during her time as Lightning.

She looked over at Kaneki. Blood pooled around him from the multiple wounds covering his entire body. He looked exhausted and broken.

Then it hit her. All of those times had one thing in common.

"That's it," she whispered.

Kaneki weakly glanced at her when he heard her speak.

"It's not about having a clear head. It's about having a reason to fight. It's you. You are my reason for fighting!"

All of the fog in her mind cleared. Corie stood up, reformed her kagune into four separate tentacles, and faced Arima.

Arima raised his eyebrows, surprised she still had the strength to fight.

Corie firmly planted her feet to the ground. She wouldn't need to move for this. Taking a deep breath, she flinched her shoulder and one of her tentacles flew towards Arima so fast that even he didn't have enough time to register the attack before she'd knocked his glasses clean off his face.

She smirked at her small success.

From there, she kept her feet still while only moving her shoulders which resulted in her kagune striking again and again and again and again, too fast for even an experienced investigator liked Arima to keep up with.

From his position on the ground, Kaneki could see that this fight was getting nowhere. Despite Corie finding her secret to controlling her kagune, Arima was still faster than her and he managed to continue blocking most of her strikes.

Using every ounce of strength he had left, he reformed one of his kagune tentacles. Then he quietly sent it underground and maneuvered it over to Arima. Arima was so focused on Corie's kagune that he didn't have time to register a separate tentacle shooting from the ground until he felt his feet sweep out from under him.

One of Corie's tentacles swiped his weapon away from him while the other two stabbed through both of his hands to keep him pinned to the ground.

Arima cried out in pain as sweat dripped from his brow to the dirt.

Corie slowly walked up to him, keeping her tentacles impaled into his hands. Part of the reason Corie hated Arima so much was because he always kept a neutral face when fighting as if he didn't care about the multiple lives he took every day. At least the other investigators she fought were angry, determined, scared, or at least showed _some_ kind of emotion. Arima's expressionless face had always infuriated her.

But now, as he lay on the ground with his hands torn by her kagune, Arima looked back up at her in fear, breathing heavily both from the exertion of their fight and the current pain in his hands.

Corie smirked again. "That's the look I wanted to see."

Kaneki watched the interaction with a mix of horror and awe.

"I could easily kill you right now, but I like the idea of letting you live a lot more. Because even though you may choose to hide it from your fellow investigators, you are going to live the rest of your life knowing that a ghoul got the better of you. And that it was a girl." She knelt down next to his head so that he could hear her next words very clearly. "But if you ever mess with my family again, I won't hesitate to kill you next time."

She quickly removed her tentacles from his hands which caused him to cry out in pain again.

Then she went over to Kaneki and put his arm over her shoulder.

"Come on, let's get back," she told him.

"You…you just defeated Arima," he gasped weakly.

"No, _we_ did. I couldn't have done it if you hadn't come in with that well-timed strike."

* * *

"Can we talk about how amazing that fight with Arima was?" Corie smiled, eagerly bouncing up and down in excitement as she ran into the training area. "I have been dreaming about that moment for years, and it was even better than I imagined it."

Kaneki remained with his back towards her.

"Kaneki?"

After a long silence, Kaneki said lowly, "We can't keep doing this, Corie."

"Doing what?"

"We're not related. We can't keep acting like we are."

Corie scoffed. "Where is it written that you need to be related by blood to have a familial bond?"

"You're not my sister."

The words hit her like a punch to the gut. "Where is this coming from?"

"I don't have any family left."

"Stop," Corie said firmly. "That's not true. Maybe I'm not your sister by blood, but does that really matter? Would someone who's not like your sister worry about you all the time? Would someone who's not like your sister have sacrificed their time and health in order to stay by your side? Would someone who's not like your sister have willingly put themselves through hell every single day for over a year in order to look out for you?"

Kaneki furiously rounded on her. "I never asked you to any of that, Corie!"

"Yeah, but I did! Because I care about you, Kaneki!" She sighed and crossed her arms. "What's really going on?"

Kaneki looked away from her. "…Part of me wishes I'd never gotten my memories back. Does that make me a bad person?"

"Of course not. You built a life for yourself as Haise. It only makes sense that you would want to go back to that life. I knew from the moment I found out what had happened to you that you were always going to be torn between your life as Kaneki and your life as Sasaki. Even if you hadn't gotten your memories back, no one could possibly be okay missing twenty years of their life. It's another reason I'll never able to forgive Arima."

"That's another thing. Even after everything he's done, knowing what he did to you, even after what happened tonight…I can't hate him. I want to, I should, but I just can't."

"Kaneki, we're always going to have differing opinions about Arima. We've had different experiences. And that's okay. You will never be able to convince me to like the guy, but if you do, I'm not going to try to talk you out of it."

"…Why can't I hate him?"

"I think he became a sort of father-figure for you when you were Haise. And for you to have grown up without a father, that makes his position in your life that much more important. My personal feelings aside, I think he really has grown to like you. I can see the way he interacts with you, even when you guys are trying to kill each other. I really don't think he wanted to kill you back there."

Kaneki swallowed thickly. "That's not all. I got more memories back. Memories that I'd suppressed even before."

"Like what?"

"My mother…she hit me."

"…What?"

"She wasn't the nice woman I talked about. She was so overworked and stressed out that she lost control and…hit me when I asked for something."

Corie put her hand to her mouth. She had not been expecting that confession. What could she possibly say now?

"It seems like every time I try to help, I only make things worse," she finally said softly. "Maybe it would've been better if I had just stayed out of the way and left you alone."

"Maybe…"

"Maybe I shouldn't have even intervened back then…with Rize."

Kaneki rubbed his arm. "At least then you wouldn't have gone through everything you did at the CCG."

"Wait a minute, _that's_ what you're concerned about? About everything _I_ went through?"

"How do you think it makes me feel to know you were tortured at the hands of the CCG all because of me? To know that you were in pain every day that entire year for _me_?"

Corie took a step forward. "Kaneki, I want you to listen to me. I don't regret anything that I did. And if you told me I had to do it all over again tomorrow, I would. Without hesitation. That's what it means to have someone who cares about you. That's what it means to have a _big sister_. And even if you truly don't think of me like that anymore, you will always be my brother."

He looked over at her as the words hit him between the eyes. "But you…you said that you should've stayed away."

Corie sighed. "I only started it regretting it then because I thought I was hurting you. And people say things they don't mean when they're scared and stressed."

"Or maybe you were saying how you really felt."

"…Do you know what Jiro's toxin made me see?"

"No, you never told me."

"Because at the time, it wouldn't have meant anything to you. I saw Reo and my parents. I knew they were all dead, but it seemed so real and the toxin made me really believe that it was. Reo accused me of replacing him and my parents blamed me for him dying. That was my biggest fear."

Kaneki looked down at his feet guiltily.

"Seeing something like that is enough to break anyone. I wasn't in my right mind, Kaneki. But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't do all of that a hundred times over if I had to in order to keep you safe."

"Corie—"

"Can you honestly tell me that if the roles were reversed, you wouldn't have done the same thing?"

"No!"

Corie's shoulders fell dejectedly.

"I would've gotten a team together the second I found out you were still alive, infiltrated the CCG, and forced your memories to come back."

Despite the intensity of the conversation, Corie couldn't help but laugh lightly, amused at their drastically different ways of handling the same situation.

"You want to know what the worst part of me working at the CCG was aside from you not recognizing me?" she asked. "It wasn't that I had to put myself through an extremely painful process in the morning, it wasn't that walking through the RC gates was incredibly stressful, it wasn't that I had to lie every day, it wasn't even all the torture Jiro put me through. The worst part of that year was that working an office job was the dullest thing I have ever done in my life. Going to work every day knowing that I was just going to sit at a desk for eight hours and do mostly data entry kind of sucked out a part of my soul. And the business clothes! Man, I missed my jeans and t-shirt. And my beanie, oh, you have no idea how much I missed my beanie!"

Kaneki smiled a little. Only Corie could go through hell for an entire year and feel that the worst part was the choice of fashion.

"But I sat through the terrible job and I wore the terrible clothes because _I _wanted to. You didn't know who I was, but I knew who you were. And _I _wanted to look out for you. I have years' worth of protecting you to make up for. So you're stuck with me whether you like it or not. I am always going to try my absolute hardest to protect you. And I am not going to regret a second of it."

Suddenly, it hit him.

* * *

_Various images flashed through Kaneki's mind of all the visions and hallucinations he'd experienced over the last several years._

_But they were different now._

_The child Kaneki looked up, flinching as his mother prepared to deal another blow. But instead of hitting him, her fists landed against Corie's backside. She smiled down at him as his mother's blows continued to hit her over and over again._

_His aunt appeared before him shouting hurtful words about how he didn't matter because he wasn't her son and that she wished he was dead. Corie walked up behind him and covered his ears so that the hate-filled words could no longer reach him._

_The hallucination of Rize smirked at him from his days when his hair was still black, her eyes glowing black and red. She lunged for him, but she only hit Corie. Corie smiled at him, holding Rize back with her body and forbidding her from getting to him so she could torment his mind even in death._

_The version of himself with a black shirt and chains on his wrists and ankles attempted to reach him in order to overwhelm his mind and remind him of his past where he had become ruthless against other ghouls and lost his mind in the process. But Corie appeared behind him and put her hand on that version's shoulder. With that action, she calmly stopped the version from reaching him and refused to let Kaneki's mind go back to those days._

_The version of himself that he just barely remembered when he had been taken to Cochlea after the raid on Anteiku desperately pounded against a metal door, his empty eye sockets blindfolded. Corie came up behind him and tightly hugged him so that he could feel that even though he was in the worst of circumstances, he was not alone._

_But the visions didn't stop there._

_When a large and powerful ghoul, the same one who had killed Reo, attempted to attack a sobbing younger version of Corie, Kaneki stepped in between them and took the ghouls blows on himself to protect the young girl._

_A sad and despondent version of Corie started walking towards her current self, but Kaneki stopped her from progressing any further. He wouldn't allow her to be that upset and depressed ever again if he could help it._

_Kaneki then saw Reina Furukawa. He slowly walked up to her and watched as she held a needle in her hand preparing to stab it into her flesh. Kaneki grabbed her hand and gently brought it back down before taking the needle from her. She didn't need to put herself through that kind of pain for him anymore._

* * *

Kaneki looked at Corie. She would protect him. From all of the things that had hurt him in the past and all the things that might hurt him in the future.

He in turn would do whatever it took to protect her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "That I helped bring back some unwanted memories."

"My memories were always going to come back. I'm just glad it was in time to save my sister."


	29. The Fourth Raid

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

Corie stood at the entrance to Amon's room. "Hey, we have a lead on Kanou and my cousin. We're going to head out."

"Okay," Amon replied, confused that she felt the need to tell him this. She never told them about their missions before unless it was as she was already halfway out the door and warning him to stay out of sight while they were gone.

"Do you want to come?"

"What?"

"I think you've had enough training by now, and you have good enough control over your kagune. But…we need your word that if we happen to run into any investigators…you won't turn on us."

Amon looked at her firmly. "I won't turn on you, but I won't kill any of them either."

Corie nodded. "I understand. Good enough for me. You'll be needing a mask then." She handed him a full-face black mask. "It's only a spare so it might not fit perfectly, but it's all we've got for now. I know you have friends at the CCG, but you have to keep that on if they see you. No one can promise that they won't try to kill you if they find out what's happened to you."

Amon wanted to protest, but having worked there himself, he knew there was some truth to her words. Investigators were trained to eradicate anything resembling a ghoul on sight, and the chances were slim that any of them would give him the chance to explain.

"Kaneki leads our group, so you have to listen to whatever he says."

It felt strange to have someone nearly ten years younger than him telling him what to do, but Eyepatch had much more experience in the ghoul world than he did and though it defied reason, he had to come to trust the kid.

Corie donned her red and white mask, and the both of them joined the others in the café before heading out into Tokyo.

Amon had little experience using his enhanced stamina to get around since he had never been further than the training area, but everyone patiently helped him get the hang of maneuvering across rooftops and through alleyways to avoid the citizens' eyes.

Before long, he was able to keep up with them with little assistance.

Once they arrived at the location that housed their latest lead, Corie pulled Amon back. "I'm going to ask you one more time. Once we get in there, all of us are going to have your back. Can we trust you to have ours?"

Another person might be offended that she kept asking the same question, but Amon knew her lack of trust in him was warranted. Investigators had done nothing but hurt ghouls for centuries and their trust in him would be difficult to fully earn.

"Yes, you can," he answered firmly.

Hearing his resolve, Corie made her way into the building with the others.

The large group walked through the halls looking for Eto or any other poor souls they might be able to save from her clutches.

The sound of familiar giggles reached Corie's ears.

"That's her!" she exclaimed as she ran off in the direction of the voice.

"Corie, wait!" Kaneki called after her.

Amon shook his head. For someone who stressed listening to Eyepatch, she was pretty bad at following her own instructions.

He and Kaneki started after her, but someone blocked their way.

They hadn't counted on having company.

Several CCG investigators who had also gained information on Dr. Kanou and the One-Eyed Owl stood in front of them, their quinques at the ready.

"Oh, great," Touka growled.

Kaneki didn't have time for this. He couldn't let Corie face her deranged cousin by herself. She had only been able to defeat Arima with his help. There was no way she could fight the One-Eyed Owl on her own. Why on earth had she run off without them? Surely she knew that would be a battle she couldn't win!

First, he'd have to get past these Doves.

Together with the small group of friends he had formed thanks to his sister, everyone released their kagunes and began to engage in battle with the investigators.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that Amon fought on their side and did not immediately side with the Doves. While he never did enough damage to grievously injure any of the investigators, he didn't let them hurt the ghouls either.

But then one person appeared in the fight that made both Kaneki and Amon pause.

Akira Mado.

This woman had been such a huge influence on both of them. She'd been a mother figure to Kaneki during his time as Haise and she'd been a strong and worthy partner beside Amon after her father's death.

Of course, she didn't realize who she was fighting.

With no hesitation, she whipped her quinque in Amon's direction and grazed his shoulder.

The injury quickly brought him back to his senses.

He was so foolish. He knew better than anyone that even the slightest pause in a fight could cost him his life.

"We can't stay here," Kaneki said quietly so only Amon could hear. "Corie's going to get herself killed. Let's finish this."

Meanwhile, Corie found herself in an empty chamber, her cousin's maniacal giggle echoing throughout the entire room.

"Eto, enough!" Corie demanded. "I'm done trying to help you. You want to kill me, then go ahead. But I warn you that I am not going down easily!"

Eto's massive kakuja form slammed onto the ground. She pulled back part of it to reveal herself. "Dear old Dad wouldn't like that, would he?"

"My uncle means everything to me, but I'm not going to clean up after him anymore. There's only one way for this to end."

Keeping her feet planted on the ground and her head cleared, Corie released her kagune and delivered blow after blow to her.

Unfortunately even with her head as clear as could be, she could barely do any damage to someone who had built up such a strong armor over the years.

Eto laughed and slammed Corie into the far wall with one of her large appendages. Corie gasped in pain and fell to the ground coughing up blood onto the white floor. Mustering up what remained of her strength, she struck Eto again but in her weakened state, it did even less damage than before.

Eto just laughed before hitting Corie again which sent her careening in the opposite direction.

A glass covering encased Corie against the steel she had slammed into.

Eto shed her kakuja form and spryly jumped over to face Corie inside the glass tube.

Corie banged on the glass. "What are you doing? What is this?"

"Well, after you freed dear old Dad, Kanou didn't have a kakuhou to work with anymore. So I figured we could use yours instead. Your kagune is quite remarkable, and I think we'll be able to do things with it we never could have imagined."

"Why do you need a kakuhou? Why turn people into ghouls? What will that accomplish?"

"Ghouls are superior to humans in every way, my darling cousin, or haven't you learned that yet? If they are going to hate us without knowing us, then the best option is to show them what it's like, right?"

"You can't keep doing this. We need flesh to survive. We'll run out of food at the rate you're going."

"No need to worry about that. I don't know if you've noticed, but half-ghouls taste pretty good." She smirked as she put her hands behind her back. "You know, this was a little out of order of how things were supposed to happen, but I've always been one to adapt."

"What does that mean?"

"Kaneki was supposed to die in that fight with Arima. I knew that would crush you enough so that you wouldn't care anymore if I killed you, or better yet, tortured you."

"You planned for that fight?"

"I planned everything. Who do you think pointed Rize towards a certain café in the 20th ward? Who do you think dropped the steel beams on her in the first place?"

Corie's breathing came in short gasps. "You…you were responsible for that?"

"The second I saw Kaneki, I could see how he resembled my darling little cousin, Reo. And I knew that meant you would do anything to keep him safe. So I decided to let you. Of course, I had to make sure you failed sometimes, such as when I let Yamori take him or when he went to go fight Arima and he almost killed him that night."

Corie felt like she couldn't breathe.

"The only thing that's happened that I didn't count on was Kaneki walking out of that second fight with Arima alive. I never could've guessed that someone would be able to _beat_ him."

Corie banged on the glass as hard as she could. "I'm going to _kill_ you!"

Eto looked at her pitifully. "Oh, you're not going to be doing much of anything in a few minutes. Kaneki will die tonight while you are stuck in here waiting for your kakuhou to be harvested. Do you know what happened to Rize when we used her kakuhou? She went insane from the never-ending grueling process. But you're tough. It won't happen to you. Maybe."

A foul-smelling liquid began to fill the tube. Corie realized this was the same liquid used to keep her uncle in stasis. If she didn't get out of here, she was going to end up just like him.

Corie frantically banged on the glass. "Eto, don't do this! Eto! _ETO_!"

Eto giggled and bounded off.

Trying to keep her panic down, Corie tried to reform her kagune, but she couldn't make the organ appear. The area inside the tube was too small and the terrible smell of the liquid was messing with her senses.

It was now up to Corie's knees.

The members of Kaneki's group had managed to render nearly every single investigator useless either through some form of injury or by destroying their quinque.

The only one left was Akira.

She glared at the group of ghouls, breathing heavily as she tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her shoulder. "Someone I respected once told me to fight, even if it cost me my life."

Amon froze.

"And that's what I'm going to do. But I'm going to take at least one of you down with me!"

Akira whipped her quinque at Touka, but Amon leapt in front of it and took the blow himself.

Touka stared at the former investigator in disbelief as he cried out in pain. This man, the same one who had sought her out with a vengeance, the same one whom she had caused so much pain, had protected her from a quinque. If she had had any doubts about him being on their side before, she didn't now.

However, in the process of protecting her, Amon's ill-fitting mask fell off his face.

Akira's eyes widened. "…Amon?" she said softly. "No…you died."

Amon looked back at his former partner in shame. What could he possibly say to her in this moment? With his winged kagune extending from his back, he could feel her betrayal and anger radiating towards him.

"I don't understand," she bit out.

Before Amon could explain any further, a loud growl sounded from the other end of the building. One all of them would recognize anywhere.

The One-Eyed Owl.

None of them were currently equipped to fight that monster. All of the investigators were out of commission, the ghouls were exhausted, and Corie was completely AWOL.

"Get out," Amon growled. "Get your comrades and get out now."

Akira glared back at him, furious that he was now one of _them_ and even more furious that he had been alive and had never contacted her. "I am not going to abandon my post."

"I said _get out_. If you stay here, that thing will kill all of you. And I am not going to let you die here like this."

Akira pressed her lips together, conflicted. She wanted answers and she wanted them now, but he was right. If they stayed here, they were going to get massacred. Sometimes a good leader had to know when the better decision was to leave the fighting for another day.

Resolving to find answers later, she and the other investigators who could still stand began to help the ones who were too injured to walk properly exit the building before the Owl appeared and slaughtered them.

Kaneki turned to his group. "Touka, Takizawa, Kurona, come with me and Amon to find Corie. The rest of you keep that thing distracted. _Do not_ fight it. Just give us enough time to find Corie and then get out of here. Leave the fight for when we have more strength."

Amon, Kaneki, Touka, Takizawa, and Kurona rushed in the direction Corie had gone while being careful to avoid the Owl.

When Kaneki stumbled into the same chamber Corie had found earlier, his heart nearly came out of his chest.

Corie stared back at him from a glass tube. A tube now completely filled with the same liquid that had encased Yoshimura. She weakly banged on the glass as her eyes drooped closed.

"Corie!" he cried.

Kaneki released his kagune and prepared to slam it into the tube.

"Eyepatch, stop!" Amon ordered.

"I've got to help her!"

"I know. But if you just slam it too hard, you might accidentally hurt her too."

"So what do we do?"

Amon frantically looked around the space for anything that looked like it would open up the tube. But he didn't see anything, and he didn't have time to search for it. Every second he wasted out here was one more second Corie didn't have any air.

"We need to detach the case from the wall," he finally said.

"How are we going to do that?" Kaneki asked quickly.

"By taking out the wall itself. Everyone ready your kagunes. Rabbit and I will send projectiles around the case. Eyepatch will take the top, Takizawa will take the left, Kurona will take the right."

Kaneki, Takizawa, and Kurona positioned themselves across from the case and released their kagunes.

"On the count of three, everyone hit the wall at the same time," Amon ordered. "You three, be prepared to catch the steel so it doesn't crush her. One, two, _three_!"

As the three rinkakus hit the wall with each of their kagune tentacles, Amon and Touka leapt up into the air and released a swarm of hardened projectiles in an arc above the case.

The wall cracked, but the case didn't budge.

"Again!" Amon shouted. "One, two, _three_!"

They all repeated the same action despite being weakened both from the previous fight and from the exertion of using their kagunes with such force.

Amon realized that this was why Corie was so hard on him when training him. So that when the time came when a life depended on his strength when he felt weakest, he knew how to find more strength to keep going.

The wall cracked further.

"One more time! One, two, _three_!"

The case finally detached itself and fell forward. The glass case shattered, and the rinkaku kagunes whipped out to catch the steel wall that made up the back of the case before it fell too far. Liquid spilled onto the floor along with Corie's limp form.

"Rabbit, come help me! Careful, watch the glass."

Touka and Amon quickly and carefully extracted Corie from the pile of shattered glass. Once she was clear, the other three let the steel wall drop.

Amon knelt down and began administering chest compressions. "Eyepatch, come here. When I say 'hold', I want you to give her two breaths, got it?"

"Yes!" Kaneki said as he raced to Corie's side.

After about twenty seconds of compressions, Amon stopped. "Hold."

Kaneki tilted Corie's mouth up, pinched her nose, and gave her two breaths.

Amon continued administering compressions, but there was no response.

"Hold."

Two more breaths.

After one more round of compressions, Corie lurched to the side and coughed up the liquid she had inhaled. She took deep gulps of air in between ragged coughs.

Amon leaned back as he sighed in relief, sweat dripping down his forehead from the exertion of doing compressions.

Kaneki helped her sit up and held her close to him, his head pressing onto hers. "I thought you were dead…"

Corie's bottom lip trembled as she clutched onto his arm. "You're…not getting rid of me that easily."

She closed her eyes as she let Kaneki hold her, trying to fight back tears. She now realized just how much Eto's hatred of her had escalated. It wasn't enough to kill the people she loved before killing her. She wanted Corie to suffer for as long as she could possibly draw it out.

If she didn't somehow stop her soon, Corie was going to be tortured into insanity.


	30. Corie and Amon

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

After showering and changing into loose pants and a shirt, Corie found herself in front of Amon's room.

"How are you feeling?" he asked when he saw her.

Corie lightly pounded on her chest as she coughed. "Like I still have more of that crap lodged in my lungs."

Amon felt slightly uncomfortable that she could act so flippant about nearly drowning.

Corie sensed his unease and decided to get more serious. "Thank you…for saving me back there."

With her arms now bare, Amon could see several cuts left behind from the shattered glass.

"Don't worry about these," she told him, noticing where he was staring. "They'll be gone by tomorrow."

"…Right."

"Kaneki told me you took control of the situation pretty well."

"I've been trained to remain calm in high-pressure situations."

"Yeah, so have we, and you can see how well we did with that." She sighed deeply and ran her hand through her damp hair. "It was stupid to go after her myself, I know that. It's just…I've seen Eto hurt so many people. When I heard her voice, I was so scared she was going to go after someone else in our group that I couldn't think straight. I was so desperate for all of this to be over. But…I didn't realize how far Eto was willing to go."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you recognize the liquid I was trapped in? She put me in that case in order to harvest my kakuhou and create more half-ghouls like you and Kaneki."

Amon clenched his jaw. And he thought his family was messed up.

"I've seen what that process does to a person. It's so incredibly grueling that it drives them completely insane. Eto doesn't want to just kill me. She wants to destroy me. She wants to take away everything I have and then strip me of my humanity. Her hatred is deeply personal and it has gotten to a level that I've never seen before. And to be honest…it's terrifying."

Amon rarely ever saw Corie scared. But tonight…as Eyepatch had held her in his arms, she had suddenly looked…so small and fragile. And right now, with her damaged arms crossed over her chest as if to protect herself, she somehow seemed even smaller.

He didn't like how that made him feel.

Amon took a step closer to her. "Corie, I swear to you that I'm going to do anything I can to make sure the One-Eyed Owl never accomplishes that goal."

Corie looked up to meet his eyes. Apparently, some of that horrible-smelling liquid was still in her lungs because she suddenly couldn't breathe very well.

She found that she couldn't doubt him when he spoke like that.

Did he really want to protect her that much? Had she truly earned his trust after all this time? Why did she feel so safe around him? Why did those words make goosebumps appear on her arms?

Corie had always been a pretty impulsive person, but what she did next might've been the stupidest and most impulsive thing she'd ever done.

She closed the small distance in between them and kissed him.

Embarrassingly enough, she had to stand on her toes to reach him because he was frustratingly tall.

Amon froze, but he didn't push her away. Whether it was because he was so shocked at the sudden action or because he didn't exactly dislike it, he couldn't really say for sure.

Corie finally pulled away and once again looked him in the eyes.

The realization of what exactly she had just done hit her and her eyes widened in embarrassment.

She rushed out of the room with her hand to her mouth.

"Corie, wait!" Amon called.

Corie ran down to the training area as if the space would somehow calm her racing heart. Things always made sense down here, or at least, they were supposed to. But even down here cut off from the world, her brain could not attempt to process what had just happened.

Her face warmed when she remembered every little detail of Amon's lips against hers and how nice his arms felt beneath her hands and how it felt like every single fear she had melted away when she kissed him.

She sank down against the wall and hugged one of her knees to her chest.

Corie wasn't sure how long she stayed down there, but eventually, Kaneki appeared down below with her.

"Uh-oh," he remarked when he saw the position she was in. "What's wrong?"

Corie looked up, her face reddening. "I kissed Amon."

Kaneki raised his eyebrows. "_Oh_."

She smiled sheepishly. "It was just the heat of the moment, you know? And my inability to not act on my impulsive thoughts." She shook her head as she looked down at her knees. "What was I thinking? I must be insane."

Kaneki took a seat beside her. "I could've told you that a long time ago."

"Very funny."

"All your previous actions considered, this is probably the least insane thing you've ever done. So…you like him then?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Does it matter? I can't do this with him."

"Why not?"

"I mean, the things he's done to us…"

"The things he's done to us? What about the things we've done to him?"

Corie chewed on her bottom lip, knowing that was a poor excuse before she even said it.

"Corie, come on. You were the one person to stay by his side after we found him in Kanou's lab and the one who helped him make the difficult transition from investigator to ghoul. You've never been one to hold onto the past in situations like this. So what's the real problem?"

Corie took a deep breath before telling him softly, "Eto has made it her personal mission to destroy me and everyone I care about. What if she realizes how important he is to me…and hurts him? I have already lost so many people. I _cannot_ lose him too."

Kaneki put his hand on hers. "None of us are going to let that happen. It's okay to let yourself have this. You spend so much time taking care of other people that you forget to let people take care of you."

"You're one to talk."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But…I'm trying. I…found Hide again."

"You did?"

Kaneki leaned his head against the wall as he sighed. "His shoulder…knowing I was the one who did that…"

"Hey, I took a chomp out of _your_ shoulder. Do you regret that?"

"Well, no, but I was capable of healing. And his injury is way worse than the tiny bite you took. I was out of my mind when I did that. I practically mauled him."

"It had to be done, and Hide knew that. I can promise you that he would do it all over again if he had to."

"I know that in my head, but…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Corie took a shaky breath. "Kaneki, there's something I have to tell you. I don't know how to say this, but I…don't want you to hear it from Eto. Um…when I was trapped in that glass case, Eto told me something. She told me that…she's the one who dropped the steel beams on Rize. She's the one who told Rize to go to the 20th ward in the first place, she's the one who planned for Yamori to take you, she even planned the night of the Anteiku raid when you fought Arima and lost. She planned everything. She thought that when you fought Arima last time, that you would die. And I would be so devastated that I would let her kill me.

"She did all of that…because she wanted to hurt me. She saw how much you looked like Reo and she knew how much you would mean to me as a result. She wanted me to protect you and care for you and grow close to you…and then she would make sure you died so that it would cause me pain."

Kaneki sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair, trying to process all this information. He remained silent for a few moments as he tried to think about what he could say next.

"Well…" he finally said. "If you think I'm going to be mad at you, you don't know me very well."

Corie shook her head and let out a hoarse laugh. "Just once, couldn't you react to terrible news like a normal person?"

"Corie, if the positions were reversed and Eto was my insane cousin and turned you into a half-ghoul to hurt me, would you blame me?"

She looked down at her knees again. "No."

"Exactly. And even if Eto somehow did manage to plan all that, there's one thing she never counted on. Just how strong we are together. The only reason I didn't die in that fight with Arima is because it was the two of us fighting against him." He smiled a little as he bumped her shoulder with his own. "Besides…you're just thinking about all of the bad things that have happened to me. Before the steel beam accident, the only people I had in my life were Hide and an aunt who hated me and did whatever she could to make my life miserable. But now…I have a family. I have you and everyone at :re and my old squad at the CCG, you know, assuming they don't still hate me. And I have Touka."

Corie smiled a little. "When did you realize that you liked her?"

"I don't think I could give you a specific moment. One day, she was a temperamental girl who scared the crap out of me and then one day, she was a beautiful woman I wanted to protect. You know all those times I disappear at night? I'm out spending time with her, trying to make up for all the time I've missed with her. I'm learning to let her look out for me just as much as I look out for her."

Corie sighed and leaned her head onto his shoulder. "I'm glad she has you. She's grown ever since she met you. You help her to be a better person."

"She does the same for me. And you know, I think it's the same for you and Amon."

"Yeah, but a ghoul and an investigator? I feel like Romeo and Juliet."

"Romeo and Juliet were impulsive teenagers who decided to get married after two days and then they both died due to lack of communication. I don't think it's the same."

"I meant that we belong to two sides who hate each other, Mr. Smarty-Pants."

"Well, here's hoping you guys aren't as stupid as two impulsive teenagers."

"I may be impulsive, but I'd like to think I'm not that stupid."

After several more minutes, Corie forced herself to go back up to the rooms beneath the café. Wishing for the Earth to currently swallow her whole so she could avoid this conversation, she lightly knocked on Amon's door before slowly opening it and stepping inside.

"So, um, about earlier—" she started.

"You didn't give me a chance to say anything," he interrupted.

"I wasn't sure I wanted to know what you were going to say."

Amon paused, trying to choose his next words carefully. "I've spent almost my entire life hating ghouls. I hated them for what they did to me and the other kids at the orphanage, I hated them for mindlessly taking lives, I hated them for thinking that they could pretend to be human and integrate themselves into society, and I hated them for constantly taking the lives of the people I cared about."

Corie didn't know where he was going with this, but so far she didn't like it. "Amon—"

"Let me finish. Things began to change when I met Eyepatch that night Rabbit killed my partner. I…I mean, Kaneki and Touka."

The young woman couldn't help but smile a little. She wondered if Amon was ever going to get comfortable using their real names.

"And he was crying, begging me to leave so that he wouldn't kill me. Every time I saw him following that night, I couldn't understand his actions or why he was so different than all the other ghouls I'd seen. I started to question my understanding of ghouls for the first time. But…not so much that I changed my mindset or stopped seeking to eradicate them.

"Then my life went to hell at the hands of Kanou and his team, and I thought I was going to die. But then…you showed up after all that time. And even after everything I'd done and all the times we had fought in the past, you patiently if violently taught me how to adapt to my new life. You showed me what it is to live as a ghoul. You showed me that ghouls are nothing like society has portrayed them. You showed me that…you're as much a person as I am.

"And then I learned about your family and everything you've been through, and I wondered how you could still find ways to smile every day. I wondered how you hadn't completely lost yourself to hatred against the CCG or humans in general. I wondered why you could still smile and I couldn't.

"Tonight…when I saw you in that case…it took everything in me to stay calm and get you out. As I tried to revive you, I thought for a moment that the Owl had succeeded in killing you. And despite everything I've been through, I can't remember a time I've ever felt more terrified.

"For so many years, I have held onto the notion that this world is wrong and that it was up to me to fix it. But the longer I spent with you training or getting the absolute crap kicked out of me or holding you when you were having a nightmare or even just making a cup of coffee the way you taught me, the world finally started to feel right."

Corie sighed, her head reeling at everything he had just told her. Amon had never been much of a talker, and she couldn't believe that he had just confessed all of that at one time.

"Do you realize that if Eto finds out about this, she will destroy you in order to hurt me?" she asked softly.

"I've always been one to take risks."

"Look, I…feel very safe when I'm with you. But at the same time…you scare me. Even after all the time you've spent here, there's this part of me that still sees you as an investigator and perceives you as a threat."

"You think it isn't the same for me? That the investigator in me doesn't see you as a ghoul who wants to kill me?"

Corie took a small step towards him. "So what are we going to do about that?"

Amon stepped towards her. "I guess we'll just have to face our fears."

Corie was rarely intimidated by anything, but in this moment, she could safely say that Amon towering over her and looking at her like _that_ was the most intimidating thing she had ever faced.

She wondered if he could hear how loudly her heart was beating inside her chest.

Amon took her head in his hands and gently knelt down to capture her lips in his.

Seeing as this was the second time they kissed and both parties were prepared, Corie easily she melted into it. Her hands touched his stomach (have mercy, was that an _eight-pack_?) and slowly slid up to his chest and then his neck. She wrapped her arms around him so she could deepen the kiss.

A former CCG investigator and a ghoul.

It should've felt wrong, and yet, nothing had ever seemed more right.


	31. A Plan Begins

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

"Corie," Touka said at the entrance to the woman's room.

"Yeah?"

"Um…come up with me."

"I can't, the coffee shop's open."

"I closed early."

"Why?"

"Just…come with me. And…don't flip out."

Corie eyed her warily. "Why would I flip out?"

Touka went back upstairs to the shop.

Confused, Corie followed after her. All of the blinds in the shop had been shut and the entire place was empty with the exception of one person.

"What are you doing here?" Corie growled, immediately putting all of her defenses on high alert. "I warned you what would happen if you decided to mess with my family again."

Arima held up his hands from his seat at one of the tables. "I didn't come here to fight."

"You are always here to fight."

"Well, there's a first time for everything."

"How'd you find this place anyway?"

"Ken came here frequently during his employment at the CCG. I did some digging and found out why. I came here because I want to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Understandable, but this is important. Get Ken. I won't say anything until he's here as well."

Corie clenched her jaw. Though her desire to murder the man for appearing in her life once again was overwhelming, the more reasonable part of her brain told her that if someone like Arima was willing to sit down and chat, she should probably take advantage of the moment.

She looked over at Touka and motioned with her head that she could go get Kaneki from down below.

After a couple minutes of painfully heavy silence in the café, Kaneki came up the stairs with Touka. His eyes widened when he noticed the lone visitor.

"Arima…"

"Hello, Ken."

"Why are you here?"

"Take a seat. You too, Miss Masataka."

Hesitantly, both Corie and Kaneki sat down across from the investigator. Corie flexed the muscles in her back, prepared to unleash her kagune should Arima so much as twitch.

Arima looked over at her. "When your true identity was revealed during your employment at the CCG, you insisted that everything you did was for Kaneki's sake. I thought that was an incredulous lie, and it was why I allowed Mr. Kimura to go as hard as he did when he was trying to get information from you."

Corie clenched her fists. "It's not bad enough you helped murder my parents in front of me and my brother, but you also allowed me to be brutally tortured?"

"As much as it pains me to admit, I realize he went a little too far."

"Only a little?"

"Fine. He went much too far. And up until two weeks ago, I was convinced that everything about trying to help Ken had been a poor excuse for why you did what you did. But that changed when I saw you fight both for him and with him. In all my time at the CCG, no one, be it ghoul or human, has ever been able to beat me. And the same can be said for you two. The both of you have fought me separately on three different occasions, and it never ended well for either of you. However, when you came together, I knew defeat for the first time in my life. You were able to do what no one has ever done before. You defeated an undefeatable investigator. Alone, neither of you will ever be enough. But together? You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who's able to beat you."

Corie and Kaneki looked over at each other.

Suddenly, Corie's eyes brightened and she sprang up from her seat. "That's it!"

Arima unconsciously put his hand to the case that housed his quinque but quickly took it away when he realized Corie wasn't trying to attack him.

"What is it?" Kaneki asked.

"Alone, we'll never be enough…"

"Yeah?"

"The CCG has tried to defeat the One-Eyed Owl over and over again and they've failed every time. Not even other ghouls have been able to defeat her. No matter what we do, she's always one step ahead of us. What if…the reason all of us have always failed is because we've been trying to go it alone?"

"Are you suggesting that…the CCG…and ghouls…?"

"Yeah."

"What you're proposing is ridiculous," Arima said bluntly. "Why should anyone ever agree to that?"

"Because it is the one thing Eto will never see coming. Ghouls and humans working together."

"It would take an incredible amount of persuasion to even get one or two investigators on your side. How would you possibly manage to convince the entire organization?"

"…I know of at least one person who'd be willing to help with that."

Corie went downstairs for a brief moment and came back up with one additional person.

Arima's eyebrows rose slightly. "Investigator Amon. I had believed you to be dead."

Realizing who was sitting at the small café table, Amon quickly bowed deeply. "Investigator Arima, sir! It is an honor!"

"If you're going to bow to anyone, I'd bow to the two people who were able to defeat me."

Amon straightened as his eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"

"I have the scars to prove it." He held up his hands which were still healing from the holes Corie had made during their fight.

Amon looked at Corie and Kaneki incredulously. "You…you two…_defeated_ Arima?"

"It was pretty awesome," Corie remarked. "For me, anyway. The reason I brought you up here is because…we might have a way to get rid of both Eto and all of Aogiri Tree."

"How?"

"By working together with the CCG."

"That's impossible. Investigators would never willingly work alongside ghouls and ghouls would never willingly work alongside investigators."

"You weren't thinking that last night."

Amon's face flushed as he recalled their kiss.

Kaneki hid his smile behind his hand.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but this might be the only way. And things are more different now than they ever have been. We have investigators on both sides. You, Takizawa, and Kaneki all have huge influence at the CCG while still siding with ghouls as well. There are so many people who respect you and will listen to you and follow your lead."

"That was before. When they see what we've become…"

"I thought that too, but then I saw Akira Mado's reaction when she realized you were alive. She was more relieved than she was angry. You've earned so much of their respect that even turning into a half-ghoul can't make them hate you."

Arima stood up from the table. "You will have my support. Aogiri Tree has killed more people in the last three months than the last six years combined. It's time to put an end to this."

"The thought of working alongside you makes me want to vomit, but I'm willing to do it to save all the lives of the people Eto is going to kill if I don't."

"Likewise."

Corie looked at all the others gathered in the café, her mind still trying to process and piece together this beyond-crazy idea taking form. "I know where we can get some reinforcements."

* * *

"Urie."

Urie turned around, his quinque at the ready and his arm prepared to unleash his koukaku kagune.

"Hold it! It's just me!"

The woman removed the red and white mask covering her face.

"Reina? What are you doing here? It's dangerous."

"Aw, I'm glad you're so concerned for me."

Urie pursed his lips which made Corie smile. "Is there a reason you're risking your life by seeking me out?"

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"Arima came to see me and Kaneki last night."

"And you guys are still alive?"

"Long story. We came up with a plan and we're going to need you and your squad to help us."

"Help you with what?"

"We're going to bring down Aogiri Tree for good."

* * *

"Everyone, I brought in some old friends who are here to help us win the fight against the Owl and Aogiri Tree," Corie announced to the large group of people gathered in the training area that consisted of the :re squad along with Arima, Urie, and both of their squads.

She pointed to a pretty blonde-haired female. "This is Svetlana who trained me while I lived in Russia. She's the one who taught me how to access and use my kagune even when I haven't eaten in a while." She then pointed to a man with an athletic build and dark brown hair. "This is Matthias, a friend I met at university. He helped me with my endurance so I can last a lot longer in a fight." Lastly, she pointed to a handsome sandy-haired gentleman. "And this is Antoine who trained me while I lived in France. He's the one who taught me the precision technique."

"Pleased to meet all of you," Svetlana said in perfect Japanese.

"You can speak Japanese?" Kaneki asked in surprise.

"I'm fluent in thirteen different languages. I prefer to teach my students in their native language."

"She's good, too," Corie remarked. "She started learning Japanese the day after she met me and had pretty much all of it down in about a month. The others only know the basics so I'll translate the best I can when needed. We'll at least cover the commands we'll be using so everyone is on the same page once we actually start fighting."

Amon looked at the three newcomers. "You realize you have all created the hardest teacher known to man?"

Corie smirked. "You haven't trained with Svetlana."

There were several audible gulps from the people who had been on the receiving end of Corie's training. They all wondered how anyone could be harder than her and dreaded what Svetlana was about to put them through.

"It's extremely important that we keep these training sessions completely secret from everyone who isn't in this room training with us. The only thing we've got on our side right now is the element of surprise, so we need to keep that."

"Reina, this is really reaching," Urie told her.

Corie found it kind of adorable that the Quinx squad still couldn't call her or Kaneki by their real names.

"How do we know that ghouls and investigators are even going to work together come the day of the operation? It may end up being only us who are willing to put aside our differences."

Corie sighed. "I know. I'm putting almost all of my hope in the fact that a lot of investigators respect you, Arima, Amon, Kaneki, and Takizawa. And I know many ghouls who don't agree with Aogiri Tree and want to see it end just as much as the CCG does. I guess I'm really hoping that our desire for peace is stronger than our hatred."

Urie sighed. If this all worked out, Tokyo might see peace between humans and ghouls for the first time in history. But if it didn't, they were all going to get slaughtered and people would be more divided than ever.

There was so, _SO_ much riding on this one operation.

But darn it if he wasn't going to see it through to the end, no matter what it cost him. Even if this killed him, there was no way he was going to sit back and watch other people fight his father's murderer.

Everyone began to train with one another. Ghouls trained with investigators and investigators trained with ghouls. For the most part, there were very little communication issues between the Japanese and the foreigners. And if there was, the problem could generally be solved through action rather than words.

On several occasions, two people would call attention to themselves and demonstrate a particular skill or maneuver they had picked up that everyone else could practice.

"Ow!" one of the members of Urie's squad exclaimed as he fought with Takizawa. "You did that on purpose!"

The young Quinx began fighting Takizawa for real which forced Corie and Svetlana to quickly intervene.

"That's enough!" Corie yelled. "Look, this is new territory for all of us. But this mission is not going to work unless _all _of us work together, got it? We're all doing our best to practice fighting and keep the injuries to a minimum, but accidents will probably happen. If it does, suck it up and move on, understand?"

The boy clenched his jaw and looked away from her.

"Touma, she asked you a question," Urie said firmly.

"I understand," the boy answered.

"Good," Corie said. "Takizawa, I'm gonna take it from here."

A very brief flash of fear crossed Touma's eyes.

"Relax. I have a lot of experience training half-ghouls."

Urie smiled the tiniest bit as he recalled all of his training sessions with Reina just a year and a half earlier. He never could've predicted that the woman he'd hated so much back then would become something of a mentor to him and would lead him and his squad into the most important mission of their lives.

* * *

"Hey, Hide!" Corie called to the young man Kaneki had brought down to the training area to assist with the mission. "Think you've got what it takes to fight with me?"

Hide smiled brightly. "Bring it on."

And so their fight began.

For two people trying to defeat each other, their faces really said the opposite. Both of them looked like they were having the time of their lives as they fought and even wounded each other.

Corie wondered if Hide had been wanting to fight her since he'd come to visit her at her apartment because she wasn't sure anyone had ever been more eager to spar with her. She had to admit that he was a lot better than she had expected. Well, one couldn't work at the CCG for as long as he did, even in a part-time position, and not learn anything.

Their fight soon ended cordially, and Hide went to go train with Matthias.

Corie took a swig of water from her water bottle. When she looked over at all of the people working together to build their strength and prepare for the huge battle that lay ahead of them, she couldn't wrap her head around the irony of it all or that her plan was actually working so far.

Once she had finished her short break, Corie walked over to where Mutsuki was training with Antoine. "Mutsuki, come on, let's train over here. Antoine, _prendre une pause_."

Antoine nodded and went to grab some water.

Corie faced Mutsuki as she got into the proper fighting position. "Okay, I've been wanting to help you learn how to fight with your kagune ever since I met you, so let's see it."

Clenching his jaw, Mutsuki unleashed his magenta bikaku tentacles.

Corie smiled and unleashed her own purple and black rinkaku tentacles.

Then the two of them began to engage in a skirmish where they fought but were still able to make conversation.

"Mutsuki, it's obvious you're mad at me," Corie said. "I've been on the receiving end of your death glares for the past three days. But if we're going to do this, we have to have each other's backs. Can I trust you to look past whatever you're upset about and work together with me come the day of the operation?"

Mutsuki looked at her angrily. "Trust _me_? How am I supposed to trust _you_? How am I supposed to trust you or _Sasaki_? You both lied to me. You both lied to all of us. I trusted you two, I _respected_ the both of you, and the whole time, you guys were only lying to us about who you really are."

"Don't you think that's a little hypocritical coming from someone who is hiding their gender from everyone?"

Mutsuki froze, and Corie knocked the investigator off her feet.

"Don't ever let your guard down no matter what anyone says," she said firmly. "Eto is a master manipulator, and if you face her, she's going to say anything she can to make you freeze up like that. And she won't be as merciful as me."

She held out her hand for the Quinx, and the two of them resumed their fight.

"How did you find out?" Mutsuki finally asked.

"It took me longer than I'd like to admit, but after training you for a certain amount of time, I saw how your body moved differently than the others. Also, I accidently brushed up against your chest at one point and felt the bindings."

Mutsuki fell silent.

"I don't know why you're hiding who you really are from everyone, and you don't have to tell me. But you don't _have_ to hide, Mutsuki. You don't have to be afraid."

After several moments of only grunts of exertion between them, Mutsuki finally admitted quietly, "I don't like the way men look at me. It's safer for me if people think I'm a man. Then they don't look at me…like _that_."

Corie pressed her lips together and sighed. "I wish I could say that wasn't true, but I know it is. But being a woman brings about its own set of strengths. If the male gaze scares you, turn it into something that empowers you."

"I don't know how."

"Tell you what. I have a friend I met in Germany who's really good about empowering women and helping them be comfortable with who they are. I think you should stay with her for a little while once this is all over."

"I can't. I don't know any German, and I barely know English."

"Well, how about this? I'll come with you and help you through the transition. You don't have to stay forever. Just long enough to really learn from this woman."

"I don't understand. Why are you helping me?"

Corie paused in her fight so Mutsuki would hear her next words clearly. "It's like I told Urie. You are my student. And I look out for my students."

She didn't mention that her German friend also had a way of getting people to confront their pasts and learn to accept it. She had been instrumental in helping her accept her parents' and brother's deaths, and she was the main reason Corie had been able to really move on and start living again.

She didn't know what exactly Mutsuki had gone through, but she had a feeling that she needed to confront it, and her friend was probably the only one who would be able to help her.

Mutsuki looked over to the other people in various spars and fights.

Touka and Kaneki had stopped to take a short break, and they currently sat next to one another with his arm around her waist. He gently kissed her forehead, let her drink from his water bottle, and then went back to training.

Mutsuki's hands clenched into tight fists.

"You like him, don't you?" Corie asked gently.

The Quinx turned to look at her in a combination of anger and embarrassment. "So what if I do?" she snapped.

"Mutsuki, if you keep focusing on what you want but can't have, you're going to miss what's right in front of you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Have you ever noticed that there is someone on your squad who is constantly looking out for you? Someone who genuinely cares for your well-being even more than Sasaki?"

"Who?"

Corie looked over Urie who was training with Amon and Takizawa.

"Urie?"

She raised her eyebrows in response.

"He's just my squad leader."

"You know, when I was talking him down from his kagune-induced frenzy, he only started to really come out of it when I mentioned your name. I'm assuming he knows about you, doesn't he?"

"…Yeah, during one of our missions. It was an accident."

"I noticed a different dynamic between you guys after one of your missions, and after I realized you were actually a woman, I put it together."

"Are you trying to tell me that Urie likes me?"

"I'm telling you that all that boy cared about was doing things that benefited him. Until you asked him to do something or you were in trouble. He's very protective of you, you know."

Suddenly, Mutsuki's world turned upside down. She had been so focused on her feelings for Sasaki that she never considered that anyone else could possibly have feelings for her.

She blushed as she realized that she had _told_ Urie about being in love with Sasaki. How much must that have hurt him to hear?

Corie smiled a little at the young woman's reaction to this news.

If nothing else came out of this, she hoped that at least the two of them found their way to each other.


	32. A Change in Plans

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

"Hey, Uta," Corie smiled. "Glad you could make it down here."

Uta fist-bumped her. "Your plan is crazy and chaotic which are two of my favorite words."

"Our plans are always crazy and chaotic."

"That's part of why you're my favorite girl. I guess you didn't have any luck changing your appearance."

"No, but I knew when I asked you that I probably wouldn't be able to do it. It's okay, though, I managed to get my kagune back."

"How? With that much RC suppressant you took, I thought it was impossible."

"Turns out I just needed a really big adrenaline boost."

"That simple, huh?"

"Not exactly. It had to be a specific kind of adrenaline."

"I'm glad that you're back to your old self again."

"Yeah, me too. Well, let's start your training. I think you should go train with Arima. That will be an interesting fight."

Uta started over towards the investigator, but Corie quickly pulled him back.

"And don't get any ideas, you got it? We are _practicing_."

The tattooed ghoul smirked. "Relax, Cor. I'll play nice."

* * *

A couple days later in the middle of another training session, a sudden cry caused everyone to freeze.

Corie quickly stopped her fight with Saiko and looked over to where the sound had come from.

Mutsuki was on the ground hugging herself as she trembled violently while Hide looked at her in confusion.

Corie rushed over to them. "What happened?" she asked Hide.

"I don't know," he answered. "He had me in an impressive hold, so I tried to get him off and I think I accidentally pulled his hair too hard."

She looked down at the terrified Quinx for only a second and then turned to the rest of the group who had gathered around her. "Alright, everyone, get back to training. Hide, go train with Saiko."

"But—"

"_Go_."

Hide left to go train with the petite investigator.

Kaneki started over towards them. "Corie, I should—"

Corie quickly put her hand up to make him stop. "No. Don't."

She was sure that Mutsuki didn't want to be around a man right now, and Kaneki being the one to help would surely only make things worse both in that sense and the fact that Mutsuki still had lingering feelings for him.

She knelt down and put her arms around Mutsuki to help her stand up. "Come on, let's go."

Carefully but quickly, Corie led her back up to the coffee shop and sat her down at one of the tables.

"Take some deep breaths for me, okay? I want you to focus on me and only me."

Corie continued talking about whatever came to her head first while she made some coffee so that Mutsuki had something to focus on rather than whatever memory she had gotten lost in. Then she put the mug down in front of her.

"Here you go, drink this."

Mutsuki took a few slow sips of the warm beverage.

Corie took a seat at the table and looked at her seriously. "Mutsuki, you're a talented fighter and a talented Quinx. I don't doubt your abilities, but I need you to be honest with me. Do you think that you're going to be able to go through with this operation?"

Mutsuki just tightened her grip on the mug as she stared at the brown liquid inside.

"This is going to be the hardest and most important mission any of us have ever faced. When the fighting starts, everyone is going to have to be focused on the Aogiri ghouls which means that no one is going to have time to stop and make sure that you or anyone else is okay. Mutsuki, I don't know what you've gone through, but if you freeze up like that during this operation, you will get killed."

"I'm…I'm sorry."

"No," Corie said firmly. "I do _not_ want you to apologize to me. You have gone through something traumatic, and you are still feeling pain from it. Don't ever feel like you have to apologize for that. Do you understand me?"

Because Mutsuki had never discussed her fears with anyone, she had never had someone talk to her like this before. No one had been there to tell her that it was okay to feel scared and that it was okay that she was still hurting from what she been forced to endure as a young girl.

"I just don't want you to go out there if you're still dealing with this."

"I want to help."

"And I want you to help. But I also don't want you to get killed because you've been put in the middle of something you're not ready for."

Mutsuki clenched her jaw, but she didn't say anything.

Corie gently put her hand on hers. "I don't know what you've gone through, but based on what I know about you, I can warrant a guess. Mutsuki, listen to me. I am going to do my best to make sure no one hurts you like that ever again. And if they do, then I promise you that I will personally beat the living _tar_ out of them."

Mutsuki tried to push back the tears welling up in her eyes. How long had it been since another woman had been there to really comfort her and assure her that she would be protected?

Corie was blunt and honest. She didn't say that she would always protect her, she just promised to do her best, and Mutsuki knew that she really would, even after Mutsuki had been nothing but angry at her ever since the woman's true identity had been revealed back at the CCG.

Without even knowing the reason why she had flipped out when Hide had pulled her hair, Corie had quickly figured out what Mutsuki needed and handled everything herself within a matter of seconds.

Now she understood why her former superior loved her so much and looked up to her as an older sister figure. Both her words and overall aura protectively wrapped around Mutsuki like a warm blanket she had always been searching for without really knowing it.

"I want to go train some more," she said to Corie.

"All right."

"And…can you…not mention any of this to Sasaki…or Urie?"

"I wasn't going to."

* * *

The misfit group trained together for just over four weeks, gaining both strength and trust between them all every day. Though it remained to be seen what all of their relationships would look like once the operation was over.

Corie took a swig of water and wiped the sweat from her face.

Svetlana came up next to her. "This is huge," the Russian ghoul remarked. "No matter how this operation goes, we have several investigators on our side for the first time. You've done good, Cor."

Corie smiled a little. "I wouldn't be here without you, Matthias, or Antoine. You've all been incredible teachers."

"You're not bad yourself, it looks like. Everyone says you're the hardest teacher they've ever had even if they do learn a lot from you."

"Well, now that you've helped train everyone, they probably don't think that anymore."

Svetlana laughed. "Pain is the best teacher, especially in our world."

"I'll give you that."

The blonde went back to training with Saiko.

"Corie!" Touka called from the stairs. "You have to see this!"

Confused, Corie followed the young woman up to the café which had been closed to allow the ghouls to train below.

The other ghouls and investigators followed her up to see what was going on. Immediately, all pairs of eyes glued to the TV situated up in the far corner.

"We are not exactly sure what this mysterious gas is, but it seems to be coming from a building in the 18th ward and is spreading across all of Tokyo," a news anchor announced, thick mist forming behind her. "The gas started leaking through major cities only hours ago and since then, all communication in the ward has ceased. The gas is odorless and no casualties have yet been reported. There is a possibility it—"

The anchor stopped speaking as she gasped in pain and knelt down at the waist. Coughing and gasping for breath, she looked up at the camera.

With one kakugan.

She lunged at the camera and the screen went black.

Corie put her hand to her mouth as everyone in the café attempted to process what they had just seen.

This gas, which just so happened to have started at Aogiri headquarters, was turning people into crazed half-ghouls.

Touka shut the TV off, and Corie turned to face everyone. "Okay, change in plans. We're going to need a lot more help." She frantically began to pace. "Um…Irimi, Koma, do you guys still have any followers?"

Koma smirked. "The Devil Ape always has followers."

Irimi put her hands on her hips. "I think there's still some Black Dogs with fangs to bare."

"Good. Find them. We're going to need them. Uta, what about you? You and Itori have some backup we can trust?"

"Backup, yes. Backup you can trust might be a little more difficult."

"I'm not going to have time to worry about rogue ghouls. Only contact the people we know will actually be useful for this operation."

"I'm on it."

"Okay. But that's not enough. We need more people. Um, who else do we know?"

"Maybe we could be of assistance," a new voice announced.

Corie's head snapped to the entrance of the café. "…Hinami?"

"Hi."

"And…_Ayato_?!"

Ayato shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away from her.

He looked much, much different than the last time Corie had seen him. He'd grown up a lot and he didn't look so angry at the world, acting like it owed him something. No doubt that was due to Hinami's influence. They were an unlikely pair, yet somehow, they suited one another.

"After the Anteiku raid, Aogiri Tree took me in when I didn't have anywhere else to go," Hinami explained. "Eto kind of had a soft spot for me. They didn't make me do much really. Just gain intel for them when needed. But now…it's too far. I can't keep helping them. Neither of us can. And…I brought some others who feel the same way."

At least thirty people walked into the café, all members of Aogiri Tree who had been hurt by the organization in some way and wanted to be done with them. Even a few members of the White Suits were among the crowd.

Corie couldn't believe her eyes. She stood up onto the counter so all the people gathered together to fight could see her. "Everyone, get ready. Today's the day. We're moving out in three hours."

* * *

Once their additional reinforcements arrived, Kaneki, Corie, and Arima explained the more complex details of the operation. Then everyone quickly began to prepare for the battle that lay ahead, whether it be gathering masks for those who didn't have one or fine-tuning any last-minute maneuvers.

Amon noticed Corie slip out of the café and go down the stairs to the rooms below. He put his hand to Kaneki's shoulder. "I'll be right back."

"All right," Kaneki answered.

Amon went down to the rooms beneath the café as well and saw Corie's door open and the light on inside.

When he peeked into the room, he saw the poor woman curled up in a ball in the far corner, her hands over her ears and her breathing coming in short frantic gasps.

This wasn't the first time he had witnessed something like this. A lot of people during his days at the CCG, especially the junior investigators, came down with panic attacks when faced with their first mission or a particularly critical operation.

He didn't know what hurt more: seeing her like this or realizing she had intended to suffer through this alone.

Amon quickly rushed over to her and knelt down in front of her. Taking her hands away from her ears, he said firmly, "Corie, take some deep breaths. Focus only on me. Only on me, okay? Breathe in and out."

He breathed deeply for her to see, and soon enough, she focused on matching his rhythm until she had calmed down. Had this been any other situation, she might've laughed that he was the one to tell her to focus on his voice rather than the other way around.

Tears began to form in her eyes. "I'm so scared," she said softly.

Once again, Amon was painfully reminded that Corie had her limits. She was just an expert at hiding them. For the past two weeks, she had handled their combined training sessions with the utmost patience and confidence. But here now alone, he saw that all this time, she had been hiding just how terrified she truly was about the whole plan.

He gently began to run his thumbs over her fingers to keep her grounded.

"This whole operation was my idea," she continued. "Everyone is following me. What if it goes completely wrong? What if everyone gets killed? What if this has all been for nothing? What if I'm just marching everyone to their deaths?"

Amon knew that feeling all too well. He had had the same thoughts every time he led a squad on an operation which made him feel each and every loss that much more profoundly.

Two tears ran down her cheeks. "And what if…I'm forced to face my cousin…and I can't do it? I hate her so much, but even after everything she's done…she is still my family."

Amon sighed heavily. "Corie, I respect you too much to lie to you, and I don't think you want that either. I don't know how this is going to go. Chances are that a lot of us are going to die. It might even be me or you. But no matter what happens, I want you to remember this. You, a ghoul, earned the respect of the most widely feared investigator in CCG history. You and Kaneki got him to willfully work alongside ghouls to fight for peace. No one has ever been able to do that. And I think that despite everything that is going to happen, you and Kaneki have changed our world forever."

He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks then moved to sit next to her and put his arm around her all while still holding her hand.

Corie leaned into his embrace, and the two of them sat in comfortable silence for as long as they could.

Eto could do whatever she wanted to her, but Corie held onto the fact that her cousin would never be able to take this one perfect moment away from her.

* * *

Corie stared into the mirror in her room, her hair once again done into a French braid to keep it out of her eyes for the fighting ahead.

She turned when someone knocked on the doorframe.

"You ready?" Kaneki asked.

"I don't think I've ever been more scared than I am now. Kaneki, I've never led a huge group of people like this, and most certainly not into a fight like this one. They're all expecting to follow me, and…I may be leading them right to their deaths."

Kaneki sighed and stepped further into the room. "No one said being a leader was easy. But you've never been one to do things that are easy. You have worked so hard to earn their trust and respect, and that's why everyone is here ready to fight with you and follow you into something like this. If it's worth it to you, it's worth it to them."

Corie felt like she might be sick at any moment, but his faith in her ability to lead helped ease her nerves if only a little.

"I will follow you anywhere you go. I always have. Because I trust you more than anyone to make the best decisions in moments like this."

"You'll stay by my side, right?"

"Of course. We're stronger together."

Corie took a deep breath. "Then let's go."

They walked up to the café where everyone, ghoul and investigator, was ready to walk over to the CCG headquarters and begin the operation they had spent weeks preparing for.

Corie stood up on the counter. "You've all worked very hard. Today, all personal feelings have to be forgotten. I will have each and every one of your backs, and I'm counting on all of you to have mine and each other's. I know this is a risk. It may turn out that it's only us against the Owl and Aogiri Tree. The investigators might even start killing us the second they see us. But let me say that no matter what happens, I, for one, am honored to be able to fight by your side. Now…let's head out."


	33. The Final Raid Begins

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

A junior investigator stormed into Itsuki Marude's office. "You should see this, sir!"

Marude raised his eyebrows questioningly and followed the young investigator outside the building where a large group of people in white trenchcoats had gathered, all of them armed with their quinques.

"What's all this commotion about?" he asked as he stepped through the crowd. His eyes widened when he realized who was standing in front of him. "Investigator Arima, sir! …Investigator Amon? Investigator Takizawa? You're alive? How?"

He then registered the massive throng of people standing behind his fellow investigators. They wore…masks.

"Wait a minute, what is this?!"

This was just what Marude needed right now. Toyko was in a state of emergency thanks to the mysterious gas covering the city and now, he was going to have to waste precious time subduing a huge group of ghouls who had been stupid enough to attack right at CCG headquarters.

But...why were Amon, Takizawa, and Arima standing on the _wrong_ side?

Corie took a step forward, her white and red mask covering her face. "Aogiri Tree and the One-Eyed Owl have taken out more people than ever before. They're going so far as to turn random citizens into half-ghouls. Their message is that ghouls are equal to humans but it's more than that. The One-Eyed Owl doesn't care about equality, she cares about superiority, and she won't stop until she's achieved that goal. Humans have tried for years to defeat both Aogiri Tree and the One-Eyed Owl, but they've failed each time. However, you might have better chances if you had some backup."

Marude's face twisted with disgust. "You can't be serious. Come on! Are you suggesting that we work side-by-side with _ghouls_?"

"Yes, I am."

"Are you joking?!"

Corie calmly removed her mask much to the surprise of all of the investigators before her. "We could've run away if we chose, but we are offering to assist you. Many of us hate Aogiri Tree just as much as you do. We don't want to see humans needlessly slaughtered for their own amusement. We're willing to help you destroy that organization once and for all."

Marude had seen and heard a lot of crazy stuff in his time working at the CCG, but this had to take the cake. Just how stupid did this woman think he was? Did she really believe that he would just work together with ghouls because she said they wanted to? How could he ever trust the word of a heartless killer?

Kaneki came up next to her and removed his infamous eyepatch mask.

"Investigator Sasaki!" someone exclaimed.

"Alone, we'll never be enough. Together, we can do what's never been done."

A slim investigator walked up next to Marude. "Do you really believe that investigators and ghouls can work together? Why don't you take a good look at the faces of everyone in front of you and think again? Leave now or you will be dispatched."

Corie's heart sank. She knew this had been a long shot, but she had hoped that the Doves would at least try to listen. What could she say to convince them that the only way to defeat Aogiri Tree was to work together?

Amon came up next to Corie. "Investigator Ui," he said firmly. "As an investigator, what is your first and foremost duty?"

"It's to hunt down and fight against ghouls," the slim man replied.

"You're wrong. Yes, it's our duty to fight, but it's peace we fight for. You should fight for it now. Even with ghouls at your side."

Corie looked up at Amon with gratefulness and relief.

Arima took a few steps forward and stood next to Kaneki. "I have full faith in Ken, and I'm willing to work with him and the others if it means ending the reign of terror the Owl has brought on us. If Ken and Miss Masataka are capable of defeating me, then we can certainly expect them to hold their own against the Owl and the rest of Aogiri Tree."

Whispers and murmurs filled the crowd of investigators, wondering if the two ghouls at the front of the crowed really _had_ defeated the undefeatable Arima, or if the ghouls were forcing him to say that.

Amon met eyes with a familiar blonde investigator who watched the whole confrontation silently. He couldn't read her look, but then he never could.

"I won't do it!" someone yelled. "It goes against all that we stand for!"

"They're the real enemies here!"

"The CCG still has its pride!"

Touka joined the others at the front and took off her rabbit mask. "The CCG's so-called pride…can suck it."

With that, every single ghoul in the group flung their masks off, revealing their faces to the ones who would kill them without hesitation.

It was a small gesture, but it made all the difference. They were no longer faceless beings with no identity.

Suddenly, the ghouls became people.

Urie joined the front line. "Many of us, ghouls and investigators, wouldn't be here without Reina or Sasaki. It's thanks to them that we're even here now trying to fight together at all. They've fought for both sides more than anyone else I know. Reina willingly saved me from the Owl even after I turned her in to the CCG. She nearly killed herself trying to protect Sasaki and the rest of his squad despite them being investigators who would kill her if given the chance. And Sasaki never hesitated to throw himself between an attacking ghoul and a human or a Quinx." He looked over at his two mentors. "I trust them with my life."

Corie smiled again and faced the investigators. "We are your best, and right now, your only chance. The gas is only affecting certain people because if it affected everyone, that would deplete their food source, and if there's one thing Aogiri Tree likes doing, it's eating. But there's no way to tell who exactly it affects. With the exception of us. None of us will be affected by the gas which means we can fight at our full strength."

Hide stepped forward.

"Nagachika?" Marude asked with surprise.

"Human or ghoul. What's the difference? Sasaki is still Sasaki. Reina is still Reina. The point is we've trained for this day. You have an army here willing to help you. Don't turn us away."

Marude sighed. Working with ghouls went against everything he had ever learned as an investigator. But if Nagachika, Takizawa, Amon and _Arima_ were trying to convince him that this was the only way, then what other choice did he have?

"Investigator Mado," he said to the blonde investigator, trusting her judgment more than his own. "You make the call."

Akira stared at Amon, and for a brief moment, Amon feared it was all over. He knew how much Akira hated ghouls. Surely she would avoid working with them at all costs.

"I'll fight," Akira stated, thoroughly stunning Amon. "Even if it costs me my life."

Silence fell over the group of investigators.

"I'll fight too," someone else said. "Investigator Arima has killed more ghouls than any of us, but if he says this is the best way, then I believe him."

"I trust Investigator Sasaki. I've never seen anyone work harder to defend both humans and ghouls."

"Amon was my mentor when I first started. He always motivated me to work hard. I won't fail him now."

Marude shook his head as he laughed lightly. "I guess that's it then. We'll accept your help."

Corie thought she might burst into tears.

For the first time in history, ghouls and investigators were going to work side by side.

"If we're going to be working together, you should probably see what we look like fighting." Corie's kakugan activated and she released her purple and black tentacles. "Kagunes out!"

A flurry of colors revealed themselves in the crowd as various ukaku, bikaku, rinkaku, and koukaku kagunes unleashed from everyone's backs.

The investigators instinctively took a couple steps back and put their hands on their quinques, but several of them couldn't help but look on in wonder and amazement at the multiple colors and shapes.

"…Investigator Amon?" someone said softly. "You're…a ghoul?"

"Not exactly," Amon answered calmly. "Like the ghoul you all know as Eyepatch, I was turned into one by Dr. Kanou. And Japan is soon going to be full of people like us if we don't stop Aogiri Tree now."

"We cannot guarantee your safety," Corie told them. "And because we don't know who the gas affects, if you want to sit this one out, no one will blame you."

Marude scoffed. "You can't get rid of us that easily. Everyone! Get into the basement and grab your gas masks and quinques! And get ready for the fight of your life!"

Kaneki grabbed Corie's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He knew firsthand how difficult it was to lead people, and he couldn't imagine how hard it was for her to know that she was leading them to kill her own cousin.

But that small gesture was enough to remind her that he was never going to leave her side.

Once the investigators had returned donning their specially-made CCG gas masks and their quinques, Corie stood atop the stairs leading up to the entrance so the large group gathered before her could hear her.

"Here's the plan!" she called out. "Everyone is going to be separated into squads. Your leader will be someone from our team because we've worked together the last few weeks to create a strategy." She began pointing to groups of investigators to divide them out. "You guys will be with Investigator Arima. You guys will be with Investigator Amon. You guys will be with Investigator Urie. You guys will be with Hinami and Ayato. And you guys will be with me and Kaneki. Or…Sasaki if you prefer to call him that. Your squad leaders will explain to you what your job is. Our main objective is taking out the One-Eyed Owl and Dr. Akihiro Kanou. Without them, the rest of Aogiri Tree will be easy to take over. At the very least, they will have lost their ability to make half-ghouls. Some of the ghouls there have been forced into Aogiri Tree, so if they willingly surrender to you, take them into custody but do not kill them. Let's move!"

Corie stepped down from the stairs as the investigators divided into their respective squads. She went over to Kaneki and looked at the mixture of Doves and ghouls in front of her who now waited to listen to their instructions. It didn't seem real that people who would previously slaughter each other without a second thought now stood together before her looking to her to lead them into battle.

She would do her best not to let them down.

"All right, everyone, here's the deal. Arima told me you guys have the most experience battling ghouls, and that's why we're the ones who are going to mainly be fighting the Owl. The other squads are going to storm Aogiri Tree's hideout and trap them inside. One of them will help clear a path for us so we can conserve as much of our energy as possible, and then we're going to go in and face her head-on. That's the plan for now. Chances are things will have to change fast once we get there, but I'm counting on you to adapt quickly. We're all on the same side here. Don't forget that."

Just before the squads moved out, Corie quickly moved through the large crowd until she found Amon.

"You ready?" he asked.

Corie nodded and then told him, "I don't know if this is the last time I'm going to see you."

She gripped his shirt in her hands and pulled him down so she could kiss him. She could practically hear the investigators' jaws hitting the ground.

When she released Amon from the kiss, she smiled at his reddened face and hurried back over to her squad.

"Investigator Amon, sir?" one of the junior investigators said quietly.

Amon cleared his throat and looked at the boy. "Yes?"

"Nice."

With all of the investigators now filled in on the plan, the squads made their way down to the 18th ward where they could find Aogiri Tree's headquarters. The gas thickened to the point where they could barely see one another.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Kaneki asked softly.

They all listened and could hear soft cries along with quiet squelches. Corie made her way through the gas, using her enhanced hearing to decipher where the sounds were coming from.

"Please, don't hurt me!" someone cried out.

Corie recognized that voice. When she got closer, she was able to make out someone hunched over a mutilated corpse.

"I'm sorry!" the person wailed.

"…Mrs. Takada?" Corie said quietly, horrified at the sight of her former boss covered in blood.

"I was…I was just so hungry!"

"It's okay. No one's going to hurt you. You're going to be okay. Just wait here, and someone will get you to the CCG where you'll be taken care of."

"I can't go to the CCG! They'll kill me! I'm a freak!"

Though that kind of hurt to hear, Corie knew it was just because the woman was scared out of her mind as anyone in her situation would be. "Believe me, right now, they're going to be a little more understanding than usual. It's going to be okay."

A junior investigator (who admittedly was all too relieved to be able to leave the fight) came up to the woman and began to escort her back to the CCG.

Corie sighed and rejoined her squad.

_This ends today, Eto_, she thought as the large building on the outskirts of the ward came into view. _Please forgive us, Uncle Yoshimura. I know this isn't what you wanted. But there comes a time when it's simply too late to turn back. At least you can know that your daughter helped us all work together, even if that wasn't her intention._

Corie motioned for her squad to stop and wait for their signal to head in. The squads around them began taking out the sentries surrounding the building while others stormed inside to fight the multiple Aogiri ghouls protecting Kanou and Eto.

"Hold," Corie said quietly. "Hold."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering every single reason she had to fight. She felt her head clearing and her control over her kagune sharpening.

"Now."

She, Kaneki, and the other ghouls in her squad unleashed their kagunes while the investigators readied their quinques.

Then they rushed into the building, coming across the broken bodies of other ghouls, more floppies, and the occasional investigator.

"Focus on finding Kanou and the Owl!" Corie ordered. "Remember all of your training!"

Surprisingly, the ghouls and the investigators worked very well off one another. Despite years of fighting against one another, their experiences also helped them silently communicate to defeat their opponents.

Keeping her head as clear as ever, Corie easily manipulated her kagune and struck her opponents with a speed and accuracy that rivaled even Eto's incredible power.

Near the center of the hideout, Corie burst into one of the rooms and discovered a large chamber filled with empty caskets that had previously housed Kanou's failed experiments.

And the doctor himself stood in the center of the room with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"We meet again," he said coolly.

"You're not getting away this time, Doctor," Corie told him.

"Oh, but you see, I've saved my best experiment just for you."

He pushed a button on the wall behind him, and another casket opened with the largest floppy yet. It was the size of Eto's kakuja, but it looked more like a lump of flesh than an actual human or ghoul.

"You guys take care of that," Corie said to her squad. "I'll handle the doctor."

Kanou calmly exited through the back door while his 'experiment' started to let out inhuman groans and attack the group.

Corie left the rest of the squad and followed after the doctor. She had let him get away too many times, and it was not going to happen again. This time, she had plenty of people fighting with her to prevent any possibility of Kanou escaping.

She caught him trying to get out another door that would exit the building, but she whipped one of her tentacles in his direction and blocked the door while using another tentacle to knock him against the opposite wall. He fell to the floor, groaning in pain as he tried to sit up. Corie then walked over to him and hopped on top of him.

"_That's_ for Kurona!" she yelled as she punched him hard in the face. "_That's _for Shirona! _That's_ for Amon! _That's _for Takizawa!" She stood up and took a step back. "And _this_…" She stomped on one of his legs, the bones crunching beneath her feet. Kanou screamed in agony. "…is for Kaneki." She repeated the action with his other leg which caused the doctor to scream again.

"With…without me," Kanou rasped between ragged gasps of pain. "You wouldn't have even met Kaneki. You wouldn't have the relationship you do with him."

"If it meant he got to live his life free of all the pain he's experienced because of what you did to him, I would've been fine never meeting him. Caring about someone means you put their happiness above your own. Someone like you could never understand that."

"So…what now? You're going to eat me like the monster you are?"

Corie smirked. "Oh, believe me, there are few things a monster like me would enjoy more than ripping you apart and devouring you piece by piece. But I'm not the one who deserves that honor. They are."

Behind her, Kurona and Takizawa entered the room, and Kanou's eyes widened in horror.

Corie walked out to rejoin her squad, smiling to herself as Kanou's screams of agony rang out behind her.

Kanou's latest creation lay defeated on the floor of the chamber, the investigators and ghouls breathing heavily around it.

She smiled up at them. "One obstacle is down."


	34. The Battle's Conclusion

**_Corie=28_**

**_Kaneki=23_**

Corie and Kaneki's squad continued through the building, defeating Aogiri Tree ghouls left and right as they searched for Eto.

"You guys are doing great," Corie said to everyone as they continued to fight. "I know you're getting tired, but you've gotta keep working with each other if we want to get out of this alive."

Coming up to the end of one of the halls, Tatara stepped in their path and blocked the way. If he was here, it meant Eto was most likely alone which made now their best chance at defeating her.

Tatara used his kagune to break all the lights in the hallway and send the room into complete darkness.

Corie smirked. "Interesting technique. But you didn't count on one thing."

One of the ghouls in her squad that had spent a week down in the training area whipped out her kagune and sliced Tatara across the chest.

"_I trained them for this_."

"Corie, go," Kaneki said quickly. "Find your cousin. Try one more time to talk her down. We'll be right behind you."

Corie squeezed his hand. "Got it."

She used her kagune to maneuver around Tatara who was now so busy fighting the other ghouls and investigators in the dark that he was unable to stop her. With ease, she defeated each Aogiri Tree ghoul who attempted to kill her. She arguably had more control over her kagune than the night they had raided their hideout to rescue Kaneki from Jason, and she was fairly certain she would never experience this level of control again no matter how hard she tried.

She finally stormed inside a room where Eto stood alone, her back to her. Eto stared out of a window where she was able to see all the carnage happening below her. Corie thought it said something about her as a leader if she was just going to stand here instead of fighting beside her comrades.

"It's over, Eto," she said coolly. "Kanou is dead. And the rest of Aogiri Tree has fallen."

After a short pause, Eto bit out, "It wasn't enough to take my father away from me. You had to take all this away from me too."

"I told you that I was going to do what I had to in order to keep the people I care about safe."

Eto turned to face her, her usual sadistic grin replaced with more hatred than Corie had ever seen. "I'm trying to keep them safe! I'm trying to give them a world where ghouls don't have to live in fear anymore!"

"You're creating a world built on anger and vengeance. That's not a world I want to live in."

"That's because you weren't alone in your world. You had a mother and father and a brother."

"Don't try to pretend my life was perfect! I watched them all get slaughtered in front of me!"

"You still had them! And even after you lost them, you still had an uncle to raise you. I didn't have anyone! My father should've been with _me_!"

"You're right! Uncle Yoshimura should've raised you instead of me. He thought he was protecting you. But you're the one who decided to kill him. Even if he is the one who left you, you're the reason he isn't here at all."

"It's his own fault! If he hadn't given me up—"

"You can blame him as much as you want, but there comes a time when you have to take responsibility for your own actions!"

"All I wanted was a family! Was that so much to ask?"

"Eto…you had one. You made one for yourself. You had Noro and Tatara who were willing to stay by your side no matter what. You even had Hinami for a while. I could've been there for you too. If you knew who I was to you all that time, why didn't you ever come tell me and talk to me about how you felt?"

"Would you have even believed me?"

"I don't know. I'd like to think I would've. Look, I know it took me too long to find out who you were to me, but it's not too late. It doesn't have to end like this."

Eto clenched her jaw as if pondering Corie's words. Then she glared up at her. "You honestly think that the Doves will let me walk away from this after everything I've done?"

"I can get you out of here. I'll help you start over."

Eto smirked. "This may come as a shock to you, but I don't regret _anything_ that I've done. And if I could kill dear old Dad all over again, I would draw it out even longer. You think you're going to beat me just because you got the Doves to work alongside you? I've been undefeatable ever since I first created my kakuja. And once I've beaten you, I am going to mercilessly torture darling Kaneki over and over and over while you watch."

"I won't let you do that."

"Oh, you've already hurt him plenty enough without my involvement. Or do you think you actually helped him when you'd discovered that he'd lost his memories?"

Corie swallowed thickly and looked away from her. "You're just trying to get into my head."

Eto began circling her like a vulture. "You didn't care who you hurt even if it was Kaneki himself who you claimed to love so much. All you cared about was making sure he got his memories back so that _you_ could have him again."

"I worked at the CCG for an entire year and didn't even talk to him. If his memories never came back, I wouldn't have been happy, but I would've accepted it. I never wanted to force anything to come back."

"That's not true, is it? Ultimately, it's because of you that he regained his memories. You told him stories about your time together to try to bring them back."

"He wanted to know."

"Because he felt sorry for you. And then you called for him by name as they were leading you away to your execution."

"Extenuating circumstances. If his memories had ever come back, he would have had to deal with the fact that he had helped the CCG kill me. He already puts so much weight on his shoulders and the guilt from that might have been enough to crush him."

"I think that's a lie you keep telling yourself so you don't have to admit to your selfish feelings. You should've let go of him. You shouldn't have interfered in his new life. Because of you, all of his unwanted memories came back. He has to once again live with all of those nightmares."

"Nightmares _you_ helped cause!"

"He was clearly better off living and working at the CCG. He was better off without you."

"They were going to kill him if he lost himself to his kagune. I couldn't let that happen. I _had _to get involved."

"Is that it? Or is it because you just couldn't bear to not have him in your life? Is it because you were so selfish that you didn't care about his needs or wants as long as you got what you wanted? Why couldn't you have left him alone?"

"Because he wasn't with me!" Corie finally confessed, tears forming in her eyes. "I couldn't accept his memory loss…because it would mean he wouldn't be with me anymore."

"He was happier as Sasaki."

"I know, and I hated him for that. I hated him for not trying to remember me. I hated him for being so happy in his new life. And I hate myself for being the one to take away all of that happiness. I need him more than he ever needed me! Yes, it was a selfish decision. I couldn't lose anyone else in my life. I wasn't thinking of what he wanted. I was only thinking of what I wanted."

"That isn't true," Kaneki said behind her.

Corie turned around to find Kaneki standing in the doorway.

"I would rather have all of my memories, even the ones that cause the nightmares, than live the rest of my life as Sasaki without you. You're my sister."

Corie felt a weight leave her shoulders she hadn't even realized was there. There was a part of her that always feared Kaneki was angry with her for helping him get his memories back when so many of them were filled with pain, both physical and emotional. To hear him confess that he would rather have it this way warmed her heart and invigorated her will to fight more than anything.

Realizing that she had lost her leverage, Eto morphed into her huge kakuja form with an enraged roar. "_I'M GOING TO KILL YOU_!"

Relying on one another, Kaneki and Corie began to engage in a fight with the One-Eyed Owl. Though they were more in sync than ever, the fight quickly went south for them. Eto was angry and hurt which resulted in her attacks being much sharper, faster, and harder than ever before. The longer they fought, the more Corie felt her clear head slipping away. Though she knew the secret to getting her clear head back, the pain from each blow Eto delivered made it difficult to remain focused long enough for her to use her abilities.

They needed more people.

But Corie had since lost track of her squad, and the other squads were all fighting the remaining members of Aogiri Tree and taking others into custody.

For now, Corie and Kaneki were on their own.

Eto beat them over and over and over again nearly an inch within their lives.

Corie collapsed on the ground covered in cuts and bruises, and she was sure she had twisted her ankle. She had spent so much energy just getting here that she was now completely spent and her injuries weren't healing like they should.

She looked at Kaneki's broken body lying next to her and slowly stretched her blood-covered hand out towards him, but the distance was too great. Her body hurt too much for her to move any further so she could touch him.

She had never felt so tired before. Every muscle inside her was screaming in pain, and her mind was a jumbled mess.

It would be so easy to just give in to her exhaustion. To stop fighting and let the others take over for her. To just…rest.

Corie's eyes fluttered shut.

_"__You were the first one to reach out a hand and try to help me. All you've ever done is try to help me. I know what kind of person you are, Corie. That's why it's so easy to forgive you."_

_"__I've always felt really…safe around you."_

_"__If you think of me as your little brother, I can easily think of you as my protective older sister."_

_"__When Rize taunted me endlessly and brought back all these painful memories, you were there to tell me I wasn't alone and that I always had you."_

_"For so many years, I have held onto the notion that this world is wrong and that it was up to me to fix it. But the longer I spent with you training or getting the absolute crap kicked out of me or holding you when you were having a nightmare or even just making a cup of coffee the way you taught me, the world finally started to feel right."_

_"__Despite everything that is going to happen, you and Kaneki have changed our world forever."_

Corie opened her eyes again.

She couldn't die yet. She had people waiting for her.

The world seemed as if it was moving in slow motion.

Looking around her with her hazy vision, she could see various ghouls and investigators battling the Owl.

Touka.

Urie.

Takizawa.

Kurona.

Mutsuki.

Each of them failing just as much as she had. Eto was just too strong.

Corie's foggy mind recalled one of the first things she had ever said to Kaneki when she began training him: "_When you're weak and tired and you feel like you have no energy left, you dig deep inside yourself and you find more._"

Though it was possibly the most difficult and painful thing she had ever done, she forced herself up off the floor, her muscles crying out in agony.

Eto's massive kakuja let out a strangled laugh. "You're either very determined or very stupid."

Corie closed her eyes and thought of every single person in her life that she cared about. "Kaneki, get up," she said firmly. "We're stronger together. Remember everything I taught you about the precision technique."

"I've never done it before," Kaneki said weakly. "It's too hard."

"No, it isn't. Remember why you fight. Remember who you fight for. And then focus. You can do it." She looked down at him. "I know you can."

Hearing her unwavering faith in him, Kaneki tried to remember why he fought. He wanted to unite humans and ghouls. He wanted to protect all of the people he had come to care for.

But there was one person who stood out in his thoughts.

"Touka…" he said quietly. "Touka…Touka…Touka."

"I'm right here, Kaneki!" Touka's voice reached his ears.

"Touka! _Touka_!"

Planting her feet on the ground, Corie waited for Eto to turn and then she whipped one of her kagune tentacles directly into the kakuja's lone eye. The massive creature let out an ear-piercing roar as it held the wound.

Kaneki stood up, breathing heavily, and faced the kakuja. He thought of Touka and how much he loved her and how much he wanted to protect her and how much he wanted to give her a world where she didn't have to be afraid or angry anymore.

Suddenly, it seemed as if the world had slowed down around him. He could see exactly where he wanted to strike.

Their kakugan gleaming blacker and redder than ever before, he and Corie used the precision technique they had devoted so much of their time to learning and slashed the kakuja over and over again.

"Kaneki!" Corie called. "Who do you fight for?"

"_Touka_!" he yelled as he pierced Eto's flesh again. "_Touka_!"

Corie whipped her kagune in Eto's direction. "_Amon_!"

"_Saiko_!"

"_Mutsuki_!"

"_Shirazu_!"

"_Urie_!"

"_Hide_!"

"_Reo_!"

"_Hinami_!"

"_Uncle Yoshimura_!"

"_Uta_!"

"_Irimi and Koma_!"

"_Yomo_!"

"_My parents_!"

"_Ayato_!"

"_Takizawa_!"

"_Kurona and Shirona_!"

Corie looked over at Kaneki as she breathed heavily from the effort of her attacks. "_My brother_."

Kaneki met her eyes. "_My_ _sister_."

The two of them continued fighting the head of Aogiri Tree with every single ounce of energy they had left. When Eto wasn't being struck by Corie's kagune, she was being struck by Kaneki's. Neither of them ceased the blows until the kakuja had no choice but to dissolve, leaving Eto's damaged body behind.

Corie used one kagune tentacle to knock her off her feet and another to pin her to the floor. Then she limped over to her cousin and stood above her with a hard glare.

"I never wanted it to end like this," she said.

Eto smirked weakly. "Believe me, I am going out exactly the way I want to."

"In another life, I think we could've been best friends. Maybe even like sisters. But you chose your path and I chose mine. I'm sorry, Eto. For everything. Even after all you've done, I do truly believe that you deserved better."

Eto let out one last weak deranged laugh.

Corie sharpened one of the kagune tentacles and closed her eyes as she let it slice across Eto's neck to decapitate her. It was the only way she could ensure that the One-Eyed Owl stayed dead.

Though Corie's hardened expression didn't change, the only thing that betrayed her utter devastation was the multiple tears sliding down her cheeks to fall onto the lifeless body beneath her.

Everyone else in the room, also covered in gashes and bruises, took a breath.

They'd done it. It was over.

The One-Eyed Owl was dead.

Suddenly, a huge _boom_ rocked the entire structure.

Corie's eyes widened. "A dead man's switch. She knew she wasn't getting out of this. Everyone, get down to the first floor and get out now!"

The investigators and ghouls immediately began hurrying out of the room to get out before the building came down on top of them. Amazingly enough, some of the ghouls helped support the investigators who were too injured to walk by themselves, and vice versa.

"Wait!" Kaneki exclaimed as he grasped Corie's arm. "We still haven't found a way to stop the gas. The building coming down won't be enough. Eto will have made sure of that."

Corie bit her bottom lip. He was right. Eto wanted to cause chaos as long as possible.

"I'll work on getting everyone out," she told him. "You go and find the cause and put a stop to it. Be careful."

"I will."

"You've gotta hurry. We don't know how much longer this place will stay standing."

Kaneki quickly ran out of the room to find out how to stop the gas while Corie frantically ushered everyone out of the building.

With no leads, Kaneki aimlessly wandered about the building, looking for anything that might be producing the mysterious ghoul-turning gas.

Just as he was about to lose hope, he spotted a large chamber their group had not yet touched. When he walked inside, he felt his stomach flip at the sight before him.

Rize, a mere shell of her former self, lay chained in the middle of the room with her kakuhou being harvested and turned into the gas that was now leaking out into Tokyo.

Kaneki walked up to the glass case trapping her into the physical and mental torturous experience. He wasn't sure how much of her awareness she had, but he was willing to bet it wasn't a whole lot.

He felt someone's arms drape around his neck.

"Rather poetic, don't you think?" Rize's voice purred in his ear. "It starts with me and ends with me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through this," Kaneki said to her.

Rize laughed humorlessly. "You're sorry? Even after everything I did to you? Even after everything that happened to you all because of me?"

"It might surprise you to hear this, but I don't hate you, Rize. I have nightmares almost every single night because of you. I've experienced more physical and mental pain than should be possible for one person to endure. But there were so many good things that came out of this too. If it wasn't for you, I never would've met Touka or Corie or any of the people at Anteiku. I wouldn't have found a big sister. I wouldn't have found the woman I love."

Rize smirked again. "That's just like you, isn't it? The oh-so-noble Ken Kaneki."

"I'm not noble. I'm broken. I'm selfish. But I'm also not alone. I have people in my life who want to help me. If I had to go back to that day at the café or our first date knowing everything that would happen, I would still make the same choices."

The purple-haired ghoul looked at him with a strange mixture of loathing and pride. "You've come a long way since that day."

Kaneki smiled sadly. "Yeah, I have." He slowly extended his kagune from his back. "Good-bye, Rize. And thank you."

A tear trailing down his cheek, he smashed the glass case. The figure of Rize behind him shattered along with it.

Meanwhile, Corie made it to the bottom of the building with her fellow ghouls and the investigators. But just as they stepped onto the floor, several support beams broke and the floors above them came crashing towards them.

Corie whipped her kagune out and stopped the ceiling from falling on top of them. "Go! Get out now!" she ordered.

"What about you?" Touka asked quickly.

"I'll be right behind you! Now go!"

Touka assisted in making sure everyone in their group was out of the building while Corie continued to hold the ceiling up to give them time to get out.

"Corie!"

Kaneki came running up to her. Her legs shook with the effort of keeping the ceiling up. She was already on the brink of exhaustion, and the amount of strength it took to hold all of the wreckage was more than she could bear.

She looked up at him tearfully. "Go…"

"No, not without you."

"It's okay. Just go. Touka needs you."

"I need _you_!"

"You'll be okay. We did it, Kaneki. We got humans and ghouls to work together. We brought down Aogiri Tree. We defeated Eto. It's okay."

"No, you went through absolute hell to keep me safe. I am not going to let that be for nothing."

Corie shook her head. "We've succeeded. I didn't fail you this time. I kept my promise to you."

"Corie, listen to me," Kaneki said firmly. "You have _never_ failed me. And I'm not going to fail you now. We're getting out of here. Both of us." He stood beside her and tightly grasped her hand. "Let's get you back to Amon."

Corie smiled weakly. "Let's get you back to Touka."

Touka rushed out of the building with the other ghouls and investigators to where the others were waiting from a safe distance. Several investigators looked over some of the ghouls' injuries that weren't healing while several ghouls patched up some of the investigators' wounds.

"Where's Corie?" Amon asked quickly when he saw Touka.

"She's still inside," Touka coughed. "Kaneki is too."

Amon looked back at the building in fear. Every part of him wanted to run back inside and find Corie, but he knew it would be dangerous to run inside a collapsing building. He could get himself lost looking for Corie when she was already outside and end up getting killed.

Everyone stared at the building in anticipation, waiting for the two missing leaders to show themselves.

Suddenly, the building fell to the ground and a large cloud of dust burst up into the air.

"_Kaneki_!" Touka screamed as she lunged forward. Amon held her back, though he felt just as devastated as she did even if he didn't show it.

No one, not even a ghoul, could survive that.

"No…"

Touka weakly sobbed as she sank down to the ground.

For a long painstaking moment, the only sound was the rubble settling.

And then…coming out of the large cloud of dust…two figures limped towards them.

"Kaneki!" Touka cried.

She raced towards him as fast as her legs would carry her, Amon and Hide right behind her.

The second Amon reached Corie, he scooped her battered and broken form up into his arms. He held her tightly and protectively, realizing just how close he had come to losing someone else he cared about. Corie wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his temple. His protective yet gentle touch finally gave her reprieve from the utterly crippling exhaustion.

She had thought she would never get to feel him hold her again.

She felt safe.

Touka and Hide each put one of Kaneki's arms around their necks and helped him back over to the group.

Once they were safely out of the way of the wreckage, Amon set Corie down again, sinking to the ground with her when her legs refused to keep standing.

"So…now what?" one of the investigators asked.

Corie smirked tiredly and looked up at Amon. "Ever been to Italy?"


	35. Epilogue

**_Corie=31_**

**_Kaneki=26_**

Urie took a deep breath as he waited on the park bench.

It had been three years since he'd last seen Mutsuki ever since he'd up and left to go live in Germany with Reina.

But after all this time, his former partner had told him he was back in Japan and wanted to meet with him.

So here he was, waiting.

He checked his watch for the fifth time. It appeared Mutsuki had not improved on his punctuality in the last three years.

"Urie," a soft voice said from a short distance away.

Urie turned to the left and his eyes widened as he stood up.

It was Mutsuki.

And he…no, she looked…different.

She wore a dark purple dress that reached to her knees, and she had grown her ivy-colored hair out. It was tied into a ponytail that reached just past her shoulders so it was probably almost the length of her back when it was down.

She looked…beautiful.

"M-Mutsuki?" Urie stuttered.

She gave him a soft smile as she nervously tucked her bangs behind her ear. "Hi."

"You look…you look…"

Mutsuki laughed a little and took a couple steps toward him.

A large man walked by her and eyed her down with a seductive stare. Urie gritted his teeth and started towards the man. He knew how much Mutsuki hated men looking at her that way, how much it scared her due to some kind of past trauma. He wanted to make sure that no one ever reminded her of that trauma and if he had to take down every pervert in Tokyo with his bare hands to ensure that, he would.

However, before he could do anything, Mutsuki grabbed the man's wrist, kicked his legs out from under him, and pinned him to the ground as he cried out in pain.

"Look at me like that again, and I'll make sure that you never get to experience the _pleasure _you seem to desire so much ever again," she bit out.

Urie raised his eyebrows in surprise and put his hand to his mouth as he blushed.

Digging her knee into his back for good measure, Mutsuki stood back up and walked over to Urie. "Sorry about that," she said, her face reddening. "That wasn't exactly the way I wanted us to meet again."

"That was…amazing."

Mutsuki looked up at him in surprise. "Uh, thanks. Corie introduced me to this woman who helped me confront everything that had happened in the past. It was a pretty rough experience and I definitely didn't make it easy on her, but I feel a lot better now that I've faced it. She also taught me to turn the looks that scare me into looks that empower me, so…that's what I did."

Germany had done wonders for her. She looked healthier and…happier. So much happier.

Urie gently pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "It's really good to see you again, Tooru."

Mutsuki blushed deeper at the use of her first name. "You too…Kuki."

* * *

"Keep your focus," Corie instructed. "Remember why you fight. Tuck your arms in when you can so you're not exerting unnecessary energy or falling off-balance."

Her students before her continued sparring with their partners, listening to each and every word she said.

"Mariko, watch your stance. Yuya, lunge with your dominant foot."

"Hey, Teach!" her blond student said as he and his best friend walked up to her.

Corie smiled. "What's up?"

"You guys have your next destination planned yet?"

"Yeah, we're preparing a trip to Egypt in a couple months."

The boy sighed longingly. "You're so lucky you get to go to all those cool places."

"We don't take these trips for fun, Sakurai. They're so we can learn different techniques and cultures and expand ghoul-human relations to other countries."

"What about that trip you took to the Philippines?"

"Okay, that one was for fun, but cut us some slack, that was for our anniversary."

Suddenly, Sakurai threw a punch to her abdomen, but Corie easily dodged it and flipped the move around so Sakurai hurt himself instead. This gave her room to pin him to the floor.

"You're going to have to try harder than that if you want to pass the class," she smirked.

At the beginning of every session, Corie told her students that if any of them managed to defeat her, they would instantly receive a passing grade and would not need to attend the remainder of their classes.

So far in her two and a half years of teaching ghouls and peacekeepers at the Tokyo Security Committee, no one had succeeded.

Shortly after the TSC had been formed, Corie became an instructor of combat classes for humans, ghouls, and half-ghouls who went through an intense program in order to officially become a TSC peacekeeper. She taught humans every week and ghouls every other week. Half-ghouls could join either class depending on what they needed to work on more: their physical combat experience or perfecting their kagunes.

Sakurai groaned as Corie helped him up. "It was worth a shot."

"You still have a long way to go."

"Hey, Corie!" another instructor called from the door. "Your husband is here!"

Corie smiled and turned back to her students. "All right, everyone keep practicing and remember the techniques we worked on today. You're dismissed and I'll see you next week!"

She grabbed her gym bag and headed out to the lobby of the TSC where her husband was waiting for her with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"How'd the class go?" he asked.

"They're learning quickly," Corie told him. "One of them even tried to attack me today. It's the fastest anyone's ever done that, so he's either very brave or very stupid. Next week should prove interesting. It's my infamous 'lights-out' training."

"The week every up-and-coming TSC peacekeeper dreads."

Corie laughed as her husband put his arm around her shoulders. "No one ever said I was an easy teacher, Kotarou."

Amon grimaced. "I know that better than anyone."

The two of them made their way through the lobby, and Corie met eyes with a familiar white-haired man. The two of them held each other's gaze for several seconds before moving on.

Though Corie and Arima now worked in the same building and were technically on the same side, both of them were confident that they were never going to truly get along. Their personalities clashed too much and Corie could never forget everything that had happened because of him. But no one forced their hands and understood that they could both work together and respect one another without liking each other.

Corie and Amon were nearly out of the building when a purple-haired ghoul passed by them.

"Oh, hey, Tsukiyama!" Corie called after him.

He turned to face her.

"That meeting with the guy from the States, that's on Friday, right?"

"It is indeed," he answered.

"Is it okay if we sit in on that?"

"_C'était bon, mon amie_!"

Corie rolled her eyes. "Thanks, we'll see you then." As she and Amon walked out of the TSC, she shook her head. "I can't believe I'm getting along with the Gourmet."

"You think it's strange for you?" Amon asked. "Imagine how I feel."

"Touché." Corie's phone began ringing. She quickly fished it out of her bag and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hey, Takizawa, you're on speaker with me and Kotarou."

"Hey, guys."

"It's good to hear from you, Seidou," Amon said.

"Where's Kurona?" Corie asked.

"She's—_Don't even think about it_!"

There was the distinct sound of a bone breaking and two yells in the background.

"Wait a minute, are you…in the middle of a fight?"

"Yeah, is that weird?"

"You know, it should be, but somehow it just…fits. Are you guys okay?"

"Do you even have to ask? Hey, Kurona! Say hi to Corie and Amon!"

A female voice let out another yell before quickly calling out, "Hey, Corie! Hey, Amon!"

"How are things going over there? Aside from the obvious," Corie said.

"Pretty good, I think. We've taken out a lot of the nastier ghouls, you know, ghouls like Yamori and Tatara. And we've managed to put a stop to about ten different groups all trying to be the next Aogiri Tree."

"That's good to hear."

"It's not what I would've ever pictured myself doing, but me and Kurona make a pretty good team and we figured we may as well use what Kanou gave us and put it to good use."

"We miss you guys! Do you two plan on coming back to Tokyo any time soon?"

"We're going to try, but you of all people know how unpredictable things are."

"You got me there."

"Hey, we gotta go. This is really picking up now."

"All right, well, thanks for calling."

"Hey, Corie, one more thing. I know this day is pretty hard for you, but…just don't forget all of the good things that came out of it."

Corie smiled sadly. "Thank you, Seidou. We'll see you guys soon, okay? Bye."

Amon and Corie exited the TSC and slowly walked down the street towards the cemetery.

It was the three-year anniversary of the operation to take down the Owl, and Corie and Amon made a point to go pay their respects to their fallen comrades each year.

Corie somberly placed a flower on the gravestones for Irimi, Koma, and Matthias in addition to all of the other ghouls who had been casualties during the operation while Amon placed flowers along the gravestones for all of the investigators who had fought valiantly but ultimately lost their lives to the Owl and Aogiri Tree.

While they were there, they also placed flowers along the gravestones for Shirazu, Ryoko, Karren, Kureo Mado, and Touko Harima, one of Amon's old comrades.

Taking a deep breath, Corie placed one last flower on a grave she had specifically marked for Eto. When she had made the marking with her own two hands, everyone wondered why she would want a marking for someone who had cost her so much.

Corie made the mark to mourn for the moments that could've been between them had Eto not chosen the path she did.

Amon and Corie placed their hands together and lifted up silent blessings for the souls they had lost and prayed for peace over them.

Hand in hand, they exited the cemetery with heavy but thankful hearts.

They then headed down to a quaint little neighborhood, looking for one house in particular.

"You know, I don't really approve of you doing this," Amon said to his wife.

"Well, I don't see you actively talking me out of it."

"Would you even listen if I tried?"

"Probably not."

Corie walked up to a large two-story house alone and knocked on the door.

An older woman with tinges of grey hair she looked like she had tried to dye in order to appear younger answered. "Can I help you?" she sighed.

Corie gave her a bright smile. "Hi! You're Ken Kaneki's aunt, right?"

"Who wants to know?" the woman asked, immediately getting defensive.

"My name is Corie. I met him several years ago when he got a job at a coffee shop my uncle used to run."

"I see."

"Yeah, he's such a sweet guy. He's like a little brother to me." Corie lost her smile and crossed her arms over her chest. "And that means I'm extremely protective of him." She took a step closer to the woman. "Why have I heard that you've been asking him for money?"

The woman clenched her jaw and looked at Corie angrily. "You have no right—"

"No, I am not going to stand here and let history repeat itself. Do you remember what you did to his mother, your own _sister_? You kept taking all of her money because you knew she would give it to you. And that made her work twice as hard so she could provide for you and herself and her son. She snapped under that pressure and abused him before she worked herself to death all because you were too lazy to go out and just get a real job like the rest of us. So what? Did you hear that Kaneki was doing pretty well for himself now? Thought that maybe he'd be like his mother and would just give you whatever you asked for even though you abused and neglected him instead of looking out for him after you took his mother away from him? From the looks of this house, you don't, nor have you ever, needed that money. He has his own family now, and you are _not_ part of it."

"Listen, you—"

Corie allowed her kakugan to activate which made the woman's face fill with terror. Kaneki's aunt quickly backed away into the apartment, giving Corie room to enter without permission.

"You are not going to talk to him anymore. You will not reach out to him, you will not even think about him. And if I ever hear about you making his life miserable or asking for money ever again, I will make _you_ feel everything you put _him_ through all at once. I will make you feel pain you didn't even know was possible for you to feel. And if you try to turn me in, Kaneki and I have plenty of friends, both ghouls and peacekeepers, who will make sure you greatly regret that decision."

Her black sclera disappeared and her eyes returned to normal.

She once again smiled brightly. "It was nice to meet you."

Corie turned and started to walk out the door.

The woman quickly reached for a phone, but just as she started to dial a number, a purple and black tentacle smashed the phone in her hands.

Corie faced her with a smirk, her eyes once again gleaming red and black. "Nice try."

* * *

"Guess who's here?"

"Aunt Cowie! Uncle Kotawo!"

Corie knelt down as she swept the little girl into a tight hug. "Hi, Ichika! I swear, you get bigger every time I see you!"

"Hey, Corie," Kaneki smiled as he entered the room. "Amon. It's good to see you both."

Corie stood up and hugged the young man while his daughter immediately began to cling onto Amon's legs. "Good to see you too."

"How was Cambodia?"

"It was really good. We learned so much. I'm already implementing some of the techniques into my classes. And we got to meet with someone who has connections to some other agencies that are trying to enforce ghoul-human relations, so hopefully, something will come out of that."

"I thought I heard some familiar voices," Touka smiled as she joined them, her long purple hair tied into a loose bun. "Welcome back, you guys."

"Hi, Touka. You look good."

Touka rubbed her enlarged stomach. "Shut up, I'm fat."

Kaneki put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "You have a mother's glow."

Touka smiled as she looked back over at Corie. "Being an instructor really suits you. Are your classes going well?"

"They're great," she answered as Kaneki picked up Ichika and Amon put his arm around her. "I absolutely love getting to train these guys, and my students both love and hate me which I have a lot of fun with. It's incredible to watch how much they all grow in such a short amount of time. I've had so many of my students ask me to continue training them after they pass my class that I'm thinking about starting private lessons for anyone who wants to get in some additional practice."

"We're just about to head over to Hinami and Ayato's for dinner if you guys want to join us."

"Sounds great. We could really use a home-cooked meal instead of takeout."

"Well, if you would stop spending all your free time in meetings you don't even need to be in, maybe we'd have more time to actually be in the kitchen," Amon teased.

"Those meetings are helpful, and you know it."

"You just like being in control of everything."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"As we've established, there's no time for real home-cooked food."

"So you'd rather we cook together instead of finding new ways to expand ghoul-human relations?"

"If it means not eating five-day old takeout anymore, then yes. Tokyo has survived hundreds of years, it can wait one more day."

Corie laughed as he gently kissed her on the top of her head.

Things were still far from perfect. They still had to eat human flesh to survive. The TSC was doing the best they could to come up with some sort of alternative that didn't taste like rotten dirt, but the process was slow-going.

Many ghouls all over Japan still hated humans and had no qualms about killing them to eat. Most humans still understandably feared ghouls.

But they were working on it. They were making progress slowly but surely. At the very least, no one was exterminated simply for being a ghoul anymore which meant their biggest and most difficult hurdle had been cleared after hundreds of years of struggle.

As Corie looked at her husband by her side and her little brother in front of her with his wife and child and child-to-be, her heart warmed and she was filled with a beautiful and wonderful feeling.

Life was peaceful.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has faithfully followed this long journey with me. I poured so much of my heart and soul into this story, and I'm thankful to all who have taken the time to read my work. It's sad to see it come to an end, but I'm also very proud of how much writing this story has pushed me to new heights and depths as a writer.**

**Thank you again to my readers. You are what keeps fanfiction writers writing.**

**:)**


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